HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A family of taekwondo instructors were able to save a woman from an attack in the Cypress area on Tuesday, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
Gonzalez said instructors from Yong-In Tae Kwon Do sprung into action when they heard some commotion going on next door.
Simon An, 20, told KHOU 11 News that he was grateful his family's martial arts skills could help.
"You wouldn’t really expect it in an everyday situation, but when the time comes, it’s very valuable," Simon An said.
He said they were coming back from lunch around 4 p.m. Tuesday when they heard screaming coming from the Cricket Wireless store next to training center. When they opened the doors, his sister, 22-year-old Hannah An, said she saw something horrible.
"I saw a man on top of a woman and the woman was on the ground," she said.
It only took a moment for Simon and Hannah's father, Grandmaster Han An, to jump in and take the suspect down. Simon An and his brother, 18-year-old Christian An, also stepped in to help.
"He just kept him in the corner, he just kept pushing down. Automatic self-defense, automatic taekwondo style," Simon An said.
Hannah said she and her mother, Hong An, took the alleged victim over to their training center.
"Making sure that she's OK because she needed that after that experience, after that situation that happened out of nowhere," Hannah An said.
According to Gonzalez, when deputies arrived, 19-year-old Alex Robinson was still pinned to the floor. Robinson was arrested and later charged with attempted sexual assault, unlawful detention, and assault on the instructors.
In a post on X, Gonzalez praised the family's quick actions, calling them good Samaritans.
"By utilizing their training and discipline, they managed to stop the assault and hold him," Gonzalez said.
Surrounded by students on Wednesday, Grandmaster An didn't seem too rattled by what happened or what he had to do.
"My life is taekwondo. ... I'm very proud of my family," he said.
He said he was just excited to get back to teaching his classes and was happy to have been able to be in the right place at the right time. When it comes to being called heroes, Hannah An said anyone would have stepped in to help.
"I thank everybody who's calling us that, but still, I think anybody can do it," she said.
The An family said they're accepting new students if anyone wants to learn taekwondo.
Robinson appeared in probable cause court overnight on the sexual assault charge. A defense attorney asked for a low PR bond, claiming he’s indigent and there are mental health concerns. Instead, the judge set his bond at $100,000.