‘A tragedy’: One deputy killed Saturday, two others injured in Houston shooting
Three Harris County constable deputies were shot — one fatally — at a Houston bar early Saturday morning.
One deputy was killed, as the other two were taken to a local hospital. One of the deputies taken to the hospital was shot in the back and underwent surgery. The second, who was shot in the foot and is expected to recover, was awaiting surgery around 5 a.m.
“It’s a tragedy I got a dad in [the hospital] I got to talk to. I’ve got a wife there, and they got a deceased son and husband,” Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said in a news conference hours after the shooting.
“I’ve got two other deputies that are in surgery. One of them, you know, I’m not real sure. I know what I was told, but I don’t want to go into details, but this instance is going to affect them for the rest of their lives,” he said.
The Houston Police Department did not release the names of the deputies.
The shooting occurred around 2:15 a.m., at 45 North Bar and Lounge, located at 4479 North Freeway, said James Jones, executive assistant chief of the Houston Police Department.
Jones said a disturbance was reported but police believe it “may have been a robbery,” and the three deputies were unknowingly attacked while responding to the call.
“They were trying to arrest a suspect or detain the suspect and they were wrestling with him when they were ambushed,” Jones said. “We believe they were ambushed and shot from behind by a suspect with a rifle. Three constables were shot, we do not know at this time if they were able to return fire or not. This is still an ongoing investigation.”
Police believe the suspect is a man in his 20s and a person of interest who was near the scene was taken into custody Saturday morning, but Jones added that they were “not sure if that’s a witness or suspect.”
“There’s a lot of unknowns at this point,” Jones said.
“As always, we’re a strong community and we gather around when our officers are hurt and killed in the line of duty, as in this instance. It’s a tragedy,” Jones said. “We really need your help and the support of the community for the constables, as they’re suffering. … We’ve been through this before, it never gets easier.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the police department’s homicide division or the department’s tip line at 713-222-TIPS.
