EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this story was published, charges have been dropped against Che Calhoun. Read updates here.
HOUSTON – People in the Northside community are shocked by the brutal murder of an 11-year-old boy.
Josue Flores was stabbed on Fulton Street near James Street as he was walking home from school Tuesday evening.
Police said the homeless man responsible for the unprovoked attack, Che Calhoun, was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon.
Neighbors said the murder is a symptom of a bigger problem in the area.
“Look, I’m not against homeless people, but there are a lot of homeless people, a lot of people passing through,” said Dr. Christel Wommack, a mother who lives in the Northside. “We don’t have to know who they are, but we have to be able to keep our children safe.”
“It’s not right that this kid died at his hands,” said Ramiro Moreno. “Having this happen yesterday, I thought this area had changed; it hasn’t changed at all.”
Residents said they need the City of Houston’s help to make Northside safer.
“This wouldn’t happen in Memorial. They would have the heat on them out there. Any guy that walks around Memorial, they have five police officers going check him out. Not here,” said Rene Cervantes.
Cervantes said they need more police patrols and more arrests before anyone else gets hurt.
“We’ve got a bunch of thieves, robbers—we don’t know who we got in our neighborhood right now,” Cervantes said. “These cats that don’t have IDs need to go to jail. We need to know who they are before they’re let loose in our community.”