The man, who police have not publicly identified, was approached by “several children” trying to rob him at gunpoint, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on X, formerly known as Twitter. But the man defended himself by pulling out a pistol and opening fire, shooting three boys, Gonzalez said.

Three boys as young as 12 were shot by a man they tried to rob at gunpoint in Texas on Christmas night, according to police. The gang of armed kids looked so young that the unidentified 25-year-old robbery victim and his girlfriend initially assumed it was a prank when the boys sprang up on them outside their Houston apartment complex,