Katy man charged with shooting at neighbor speaks with ABC13
KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- A Katy-area man accused of firing his rifle several times during a road rage incident admitted to ABC13 that he did indeed, fire the weapon. However, Arsid Kruja says it was in self-defense.
The incident began around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, when Harris County Precinct 5 deputies responded to a road rage incident in the Ventana neighborhood of Katy.
Deputies say Kruja and the other driver were brake-checking each other and doing other typical road rage behavior when the first driver followed Kruja to his Ventana-area home.
"I tried to get away from him," said Kruja, who alleged that Johnson was the first to brake-check him. "How do I know he's not following me to rob me or come another time to do bad on my family?"
Deputies say Kruja eventually parked at his home, while the other driver parked down the street. A few moments later, Kruja allegedly came out of his home with a rifle, and fired several shots at that man's car to get him to leave the neighborhood.
The victim, Kruja's neighbor, spoke off-camera with ABC13 and said Kruja also threatened to kill him. He told ABC13 he followed Kruja, who lives nearby, following the incident near their Katy neighborhood while on the phone with a 911 dispatcher. The victim said he was in the process of sharing Kruja's address and license plate number with the dispatcher when Kruja got out of his car and opened fire.
Because he fired a weapon, the Harris County District Attorney's Office accepted charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and Kruja was arrested.
Kruja said he fired the shots because he felt threatened. He told ABC13 he did not intend to kill, only scare his neighbor. Kruja's neighbor showed ABC13 his vehicle marred by bullets.
"I wish I didn't do that because when I looked at the (surveillance) footage, I did come out really agitated," Kruja said.
In his initial court appearance, Arsid Kruja appeared calm and level headed something he admits he wasn't feeling on Tuesday afternoon.
"It was a threat to me. I got chased down. I had to drive reckless," he said.
Kruja, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Albania, says he was protecting his home, his younger sister, and his parents from what he saw as a threat.
"My intentions were never to kill him, I never aimed to shoot at him personally, I shot at the back door, those were warning shots," he said, then upon reflection continued, "But that doesn't justify me shooting . It's a gun, it's aggravated assault with a deadly weapon."
After spending two nights in jail and then posting bond, Kruja says he was acting in self-defense.
"I'm hoping I can beat it because I know, I know me, I know I would never kill someone," Kruja said. "I know I would never hurt anyone."
