U.S. Marshals arrest man accused of fatally stabbing boy walking home from school in north Houston
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The U.S. Marshals have arrested a suspect in the fatal stabbing of an 11-year-old boy. Josue Flores was killed as he was walking home from school in north Houston Tuesday afternoon.
UPDATE: Charges against Che Calhoun were dropped on Friday, May 20
U.S. Marshals took 31-year-old Che Calhoun into custody Wednesday afternoon at the corner of Selinsky and MLK Boulevard. Calhoun, who's now charged with murder, is undergoing a mental evaluation and will be questioned by Houston police investigators.
"I feel a little relief that he's not out there with the chance to hurt anybody else, but it still doesn't take away the pain of my little brother being gone," Flores' sister, Guadalupe Flores, said shortly after the arrest.
PHOTOS: Boy stabbed in horrific killing
According to investigators, Josue was walking home from school alone Tuesday afternoon when he was repeatedly stabbed by a man in the 1900 block of Fulton Street. Josue died at a local hospital.
Carlos, a local homeless man, alleges he saw Calhoun stab Josue. He told abc13's Jeff Ehling, "The black man grabbed a hold of the kid and did something to him and threw him down on the ground. I saw him laying against the tree, but then I saw blood come up. I looked at him directly in the eye when I saw him."
Guadalupe Flores said she's trying not to be angry at Calhoun.
"I wanted to at first, but my little brother wasn't about that," Flores said, "He was about caring and loving and sharing, and I know if he were here, he wouldn't have held anything against him."
Reports say Calhoun is a local homeless man who goes by "Detroit," since he is originally from Michigan.
Calhoun has quite a criminal past. He's been arrested twice for assaulting a family member, making terroristic threats and violating a protective order.
Eyewitness News found a GoFundMe page apparently set up by Calhoun to buy a car last August. The message on the page starts with words, "I grew up blinded by drugs, hitting women."
It goes on to say Calhoun has changed his life, "God had other plans. He has given me a peace."
VIDEO: Family members struggle to accept deadly attack
Josue was a sixth-grader at Marshal Middle School. Parents dropping of their kids at the campus are nervous for the safety of their children.
Parent Magaly Carbajal said, "They walk home, I am going to be thinking are they going to be walking home safe and I told them to call me as soon as they get home, you know, it's not safe."
Michael Harrison is the principal at Marshall Middle School. He is planning a vigil in Josue's honor set to take place Friday afternoon.
"He was a very quiet kid, very respectful, very mannerable," Harrison said, "Just a joy and a pleasure to have around. And so I just really feel saddened by the situation."
