Video shows attempted vehicle theft suspect waving gun in the air in southwest Houston neighborhood

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A video captured what law enforcement described as an attempted truck theft in a southwest Houston neighborhood, where the suspects were seen waving a gun.

While the brazen burglars did not get away with the vehicle, law enforcement said the use of firearms in the situation is a threat and concern to public safety.

"My heart sort of dropped, and it seemed a bit unreal that this was happening in our neighborhood," homeowner Dejka Araujo said.

Dejka Araujo said her son had just finished some late-night yard work and parked his car on the street on Monday at around 11:30 p.m.

She said it wasn't until the next day that he noticed someone had rummaged through his vehicle, prompting Araujo to check her cameras.

"I was surprised that they - this incident probably happened while my son was actually awake, and I'm just thinking in my mind, what if he had gone back outside and there were four guys and two with handguns, what could've happened," Araujo said.

Precinct One Constable Alan Rosen said that while trucks are being targeted right now, these are the type of brazen burglars they want off the streets.

"That bothers me, that's what keeps law enforcement up at night, somebody, over a truck rather than just run and go to the next car that they're going to try and steal, that this one guy was engaged in providing cover with a firearm - and what looks like a real gun - we don't know because we didn't catch them that night," Rosen said.

Rosen said they will do everything in their power to catch those responsible.

"That's my message, you're absolutely going to be caught. The most important thing is making sure the criminal justice system does its job," Rosen said. "People who are waving guns around, those are people that scare us, and those are the people that really mean business, and those are the people I want to occupy that jail."

The homeowner said the constables are currently increasing patrols in this neighborhood.

She did say the thieves stole her son's Beats headphones, but thankfully, one of their neighbors gave him a free pair after hearing about the incident.