Kevin Holland Takes Down Gunman in Houston Restaurant

As per as the spokesman of the Houston Police Department, Sgt. Ricardo Salas, the incident happened around 11:30 pm at RA Sushi in the 3900 block at Westheimer Road inside the Highland Village Shopping Center.

A Terrifying Situation

A man sitting at the restaurant’s bar pulled a gun and fired a shot into the air. As per police estimations, there were about 40 to 50 people at the restaurant at the time and most of them ducked and ran for cover,with the exception of one individual who tried his best by grabbing the gunman’s hand and attempted to subdue him.

Kevin Holland was in the sushi spot at the same time with three others including friend and mixed martial artist Patrick Robinson when the incident happened.In an ESPN interview with Marc Raimondi, Holland said that he didn’t know a shot had been fired until he saw people running away.

Holland said he and Robinson immediately got low and ducked for cover, then looked in the direction of the shot. Holland said he saw the gunman and the man who grabbed his arm. The gun at that point was facing toward Holland, Robinson and other patrons. Rather than running away, he and Robinson went around the other side. Holland said he picked up a chair to hit the gunman, but couldn’t tell who the gunman was and who was the good Samaritan as they were wrestling on the ground.

Trailblazer to the Rescue

Holland noticed the man on the bottom of the skirmish was the one holding the gun. He and Robinson disarmed him, Holland said he then took the man into his lap, wrapped his legs around his legs and put him in a rear-naked choke submission hold and put him into sleep.

As per as the police reports, no one was injured in the gunfire, although a woman who was with Holland scraped her hand while running for cover to the kitchen. Police eventually responded and put the gunman in handcuffs.

On Tuesday, HPD identified the man as 24-year-old Jesus Edrai Cardiel Samaniego. He faces charges of deadly conduct and unlawfully carrying a weapon. Sgt. Ricardo Salas said the men’s quick thinking could have saved lives. In an interview the night of the shooting, Salas did not know why the man pulled the gun and fired in the first place, later he confirmed the gunman had a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear in court on a separate criminal mischief charge.

Holland declined to speak to media Monday night and was not immediately available for an interview Tuesday, however his involvement in the aforementioned incident was confirmed by Ariel Helwani.

Holland later did put up an Instagram story where he and Robinson were spotted outside a building with police lights flashing off the siding. He showed the police cars and called it a shootout. The text on the video reads, “I’m drunk and fighting kung fu fighting” and he said “they” wanted him to do interviews, but he wouldn’t.

He also gave a nod to the incident on Twitter while promoting his merchandise that says “I’m ok.” In the tweet, he tagged the Houston Police Department’s official Twitter account. 

The ‘Trailblazer’ is no stranger to these types of situations. He had previously chased down and detained a suspected car-jacker last October, just two days after a UFC fight. Holland has also shown that he isn’t afraid of online social media trolls, inviting multiple online bullies to his gym before tapping them out and hitting them with nasty strikes. 

Holland started his 2022 campaign emphatically, after securing a TKO victory over longtime UFC veteran Alex Oliviera. This was his welterweight debut after making the move down from 185 to 170 pounds. The news.

The already popular Holland’s star-power might get a significant raise following his on the streets heroic gestures. What is your reaction to the Kevin Holland incident?

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Featured image credit to Embed from Getty Images