Family of Taekwondo Instructors Helps Stop Alleged Sexual Assault in Texas, Police Say

A Harris County Sheriff vehicle in Harris County, Texas, in May 2022. (Google Maps/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

A family of taekwondo instructors in Texas rescued a woman from an attempted sexual assault and pinned the alleged attacker to the ground until the police arrived, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Department.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez stated in a series of posts on X on Tuesday that police were dispatched to a disturbance in the 6800 block of Fry Road, Katy, Texas.

The alleged attacker was already pinned down by instructors from Yong-In Tae Kwon Do—a Korean martial arts studio run by the An family in Katy, Texas—when police arrived at the scene, the sheriff said.

“TO THE RESCUE: A group of good samaritans rushed to safe [sic] the day,” Mr. Gonzalez stated.

“During the course of their investigation, deputies learned the instructors were notified of yelling next door. The instructors went next door where they observed a male attempting to sexually assault a female,” he added.

The family told KHOU 11 News that they rushed to the Cricket Wireless store next to their dojo upon hearing screaming and found a man “on top of a woman” who was on the ground.

Instructor Simon An, said that his father, Han An—a grandmaster and former martial arts instructor for the South Korean Marine Corps—grabbed the attacker and pinned him down.

“He just kept him in the corner, he just kept pushing down,” he told the news outlet. His sister, Hannah An, described their father as going into “automatic self-defense, automatic taekwondo style.”

Simon An said that he and his 18-year-old brother, Christian An, also stepped in to help.

Authorities identified the alleged attacker as 19-year-old Alex Robinson. Mr. Gonzalez also credited the family with saving the unnamed woman from the alleged sexual assault.

“By utilizing their training and discipline, they managed to stop the assault and hold him,” Mr. Gonzalez stated.

“Deputies obtained charges for attempted sexual assault and unlawful detention on behalf of the survivor and assault on behalf of the instructors,” the sheriff added.

The Korean martial arts studio shared the news of the incident on social media.

“We did it to save the female employee because in that specific situation anyone can go and prevent what is happening. We hope that anyone can stand up and fight who are weak,” the studio stated in a social media post.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Yong-In Tae Kwon Do studio for comment but did not hear back by publication time.