The Associated Press
HOUSTON A suspect led Houston police on a chase Thursday that ended with him wounding three officers in a shootout, stealing a car and barricading himself inside a home, authorities said.
The incident began about 2:40 p.m. Thursday as officers responded to a family disturbance call at a home in northeast Houston, Police Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference.
All three of the injured officers were in stable condition after being taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital. Two of the officers were transported by another patrol officer’s vehicle while the third was taken by the Houston Fire Department.
One of the officers was shot in the arm, another was shot in the leg and the third was shot in the foot, said Doug Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union.
“We are just grateful to God they are all right,” Finner said.
Police had responded to a report of a shooting at the home of the suspect’s girlfriend, according to Griffith. When officers arrived, the suspect, whose name has not been released by authorities, fled in a vehicle and led police on a chase for several miles.
The chase ended when the suspect’s vehicle crashed at an intersection in a residential neighborhood just off Interstate 69 on the southeastern edge of downtown Houston.
“Officers as they got out of vehicle, the suspect immediately fired upon officers, striking three officers. All the officers returned fire,” Finner said.
It was not known if the suspect was injured by the officers’ gunfire. Finner said it’s possible the suspect fired more than 50 rounds. Officers described the gun the suspect used as “a fully automatic weapon,” he said.
The suspect fled the scene and carjacked at gunpoint a white Mercedes, Finner said. He then drove to a home located several miles northeast of where the crash occurred.
Officers surrounded the home. The suspect fired multiple times but did not hit any of the officers, who returned fire, Finner said.
The suspect remained barricaded in the home Thursday evening and police were negotiating to get him out, Finner said. Houston police said SWAT and hostage negotiation teams were at the scene of the home. The suspect was believed to be the only person in the home. It was not immediately known why he went there, Finner said.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said he visited the wounded officers and they were talkative and in good spirits.
Turner said Thursday’s shooting highlighted the dangers law enforcement face each day and the rising violent crime that has affected Houston and other U.S. cities the last couple of years.
Finner said it’s been “a tough week for law enforcement” in Houston. On Sunday, a Houston-area deputy constable was fatally shot during a traffic stop and a Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy was fatally struck by a vehicle early Monday as he stood by his motorcycle while blocking a Houston highway exit ramp during an off-duty job escorting heavy machinery. A Houston police dog was injured after he was stabbed by a man following an attempted carjacking.
Turner said that he and Finner planned to announce next week “some additional steps” the city will take to address rising crime in Houston.
“It’s going to take all of us working together to have a very safe city,” Turner said.
