NE Houston group home resident demanded to pick up child at nearby school, Humble ISD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A northeast Houston neighborhood is demanding accountability after a woman living in a group home triggered a lockdown at the nearby elementary school.

On Thursday at about 4 p.m., a woman walked into Summerwood Elementary and demanded to pick up a child. Humble ISD said when school officials began questioning, she started screaming and hurling insults. The woman left when police were called.

The Humble ISD Police Department was able to locate the woman a few minutes later in Melissa Munk's front yard.

"I was watching out my front window, and then came out and informed the police officers that they had no idea who she was. But I told them she lives (at the group home), she's a repeat offender," Munk, who has children attending the school, said. "My child walks to and from school. My other son was home yesterday and getting off the bus when all this happened."

No kids were harmed, Munk said. However, watching the woman being taken away was unnerving. Humble ISD said the woman was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital for a mental health evaluation.

The incident was among a list of mounting grievances for neighbors since the group home opened up earlier this year.

"l live right next door. I hear them in the backyard I listen to them. They're saying all kinds of things that scare me," Dwayne Buehring, another frustrated neighbor, said. "(The school lockdown and arrest) just totally blew me away. I didn't think it was capable to get to this level."

Houston police said their records show about a dozen calls for service to this home since the beginning of the year. Neighbors added other law enforcement agencies have also responded, though an exact count is unclear.

"(The house has) no cameras, no door chimes," Wendy Williams, another parent in the neighborhood, said. "So, they can slip out at any moment. (They were) maybe off their medication they need, which is why they're in a treatment facility."

ABC13 tried contacting the home's operator, listed as Toni Booth, according to state records, but she didn't answer multiple calls. Eyewitness News also contacted Marcus Pitre, who was identified by neighbors as the owner of the home, but he also didn't return our phone calls.

The state of Texas keeps records on residential group homes, but this specific location was not available on the state database online. ABC13 contacted state officials, who said the earliest that data would be available on the property will be next week.

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