(The Center Square) – Despite a Houston area baseball facility initially claiming Muslim men shooting into a 12-yaer-old baseball game was “recreational shooting,” the Department of Homeland Security says the men are dangerous criminals.
DHS also says two of the men never should have been allowed into the country or been granted the immigration status they were by the Biden administration.
Three Muslim men were charged last week with felonies after they allegedly fired rounds toward a youth baseball complex in Katy, Texas, a suburb west of Houston.
Shots were fired into the Ameripark youth baseball field, known as “The Rac,” when a youth baseball tournament was being played, The Center Square reported.
The Waller County Sheriff’s Office arrested three men several days after the shooting: Mahmood Abdelsalam Rababah, 23; Ahmad Mawed, 21; and Mustafa Mohammad Matalgah, 27.
They were charged with deadly conduct, discharge of a firearm, a felony offense. Each were held on $100,000 surety bonds; only Mawed’s bond remained active, according to county jail records.
Jordanian national Mustafa Mohammad Matalgah was granted citizenship by the Biden administration; Lebanese national Ahmad Mawed was granted a green card by the Biden administration, DHS said.
None of the children were injured; a 27-year-old coach was struck in the shoulder, taken to the hospital and released. He was saying a pregame prayer with the team when shots were fired, got down on the ground and covered players with his body, KHOU 11 News reported.
The Rac’s initial statement claimed “the unfortunate incident occurred involving recreational shooting on a nearby property.”
Residents and taxpayers have criticized the response, pointing to increased Islamic violence in the Houston area. They include recent high profile arrests of members of the Iranian National Guard and an ISIS-linked Houston man who was indicted for planning a 9/11 style terrorist attack, among others, The Center Square reported.
The shooting also occurred after Gov. Greg Abbott ceremonially signed a bill into law this month banning Islamic Sharia law and Sharia compounds in Texas.
In response to DHS’ announcement, Abbott said, “Keep these criminals in a Texas prison for as long as possible. Then deport them to never return.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Matalgah’s and Mawed’s applications should have been denied because they were coming from “high threat countries.”
“This horrific act of terror, the firing on children praying before the start of a baseball game, is pure evil,” she said. “These individuals from high threat countries were let in by the Biden Administration. They clearly were not vetting the aliens they were letting legally enter our country and even become U.S. citizens. Not only did Biden fail the American people by leaving our borders wide open to criminals, but he also legally allowed them to gain status and citizenship to terrorize our communities.”
The Biden administration approved Matalgah’s U.S. citizenship application on Aug. 1, 2023, despite prior arrests for drug possession. Drug possession disqualifies applicants for citizenship.
It also granted Mawed’s entrance on an IR-2 visa on June 3, 2021. The green card status automatically made him a legal permanent resident, DHS said.
Under the Trump administration, their citizenship and resident status may be revoked if they are convicted. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already begun a visa revocation process targeting foreign nationals who commit violence or threaten violence against Americans.
DHS is also offering resources and support to “victims of alien crime” through its Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office. For more information, victims are encouraged to call 1-855-48-VOICE (1-855-488-6423).
