Harris County Deputy killed while pumping gas

A deputy sheriff in Harris County, Texas was shot and killed while putting gas in his cruiser.

Capping off a month that saw a deputy constable struck by a car, a deputy working in the jail suffer a heart attack during an altercation with an inmate, a 14 year old girl wounded in a drive by shooting, and a mass murder with eight deaths inside a residence, now this. All in Harris, which I know is big but...yea.

It's just now hitting the wire, but initial reports are that the deputy was shot in the back while getting gas. No perpetrator in custody so far. Unclear as to whether the deputy died at the scene or in hospital, but he/she was airlifted to the hospital.


Forgot link - www.khou.com...

a reply to: Shamrock6
I see no link. Was this on twitter?
ETA: Sorry about that. You must have added it while I was typing.

not trying to detract from this tragedy,
but dont they wear vests down there?

a reply to: Skid Mark

I forgot the link when I posted. Done that three times lately now. Apologies.

a reply to: autopat51

Believe it or not (that's not sarcasm, it's kind of mind boggling to me) not every agency mandates they be worn at all times. Some guys will take them off when it's hot.

And some of your older guys don't wear them because they never have and even if they're mandated, there's typically a grandfather clause for long-serving officers.

That being said, vests can still be defeated depending on caliber and shot location. No details on any of that have been put out yet though, so all I just said is purely informational.

My condolences to his family and the community. My prayers are with them.
I truly hope that justice finds the perp.

a reply to: Shamrock6

thank you
i think all officers should wear vests,
they arent perfect..but bare skin does not have much stopping power.

a reply to: Shamrock6
No worries, man. I do that, too. You get to doing stuff and just forget. I think every member here's done it.

I wonder if whoever did it had a grudge or if it's just a random thing.

People.com (of all freaking sites) is reporting that the airlift was dispatched but then called off. If true, the deputy was likely dead on scene. They're also reporting there's an active manhunt underway. I imagine that means there's surveillance video of the shooter and likely of a vehicle, if there is one.

i hope they catch this person soon.
cop killers are a ballsy, sick breed.

a reply to: Shamrock6

ughh You cant even stop and pump your gas.. Sounds like he was shot for being a cop, Bad time to be a cop right now.

There are alot of bad cops out there but there are alot more bad people.. There is probably video of the shooting so I bet someone is caught really fast.

Two local media outlets are reporting "over a dozen shell casings on the ground" and the deputy's body was still on scene very recently.

Multiple units are hauling down the road in various directions after leaving the gas station.

I live about 15 minutes from the scene and have a brother in law who is a Harris County Sheriffs deputy. When I first heard I was terrified that it was him, as he has two kids however we've heard nothing, neither from him nor the department so we don't think it was him.

They do wear vests. Initial reports indicate he was shot first in the back of the head then shot multiple times once he fell.

Here are some of our local news sources.

KHOU

ABC13


This is being described as an "ambush" and "execution," as the officer was approached, and shot from behind. In the press conference, the reporting officer did indicate that there was a video, I'm assuming from the gas station security cameras, but he said they couldn't make out a license plate, or a good description of the suspect.

Some confusion on whether or not the officer was alone. When the first witness arrived on the scene, a lady was crying over his body, said she was his "best friend" and that he had two kids. Media and police are trying to figure out how she was on scene, and whether she was connected to the shooting.

Local police are looking for a "dark complected" male, 5'10" to 6'0" tall, driving a red or maroon ford ranger pickup truck.

a reply to: Shamrock6
damn..sounds like he didnt have any chance at all.
was he marked i wounder?

a reply to: unphased

I dont know Houston, was this the ghetto?

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Houston is very mixed, and the area in which this officer was killed has an almost equal number of every ethnic group, mostly mid-upper middle class people.

Although I take exception to your nondescript use of the word "ghetto".

a reply to: unphased

Girl with him? Hmmm The plot thickens.. Girls x maybe?

Damn, shot in the back..that's pretty colblooded stuff, hope they find the scumbag.

a reply to: unphased

Thank you very much for the local input. Last I saw was the press conference was "soon" but I've been driving the last little while. Frankly the online updates have been slow. Agonizingly so, from my perspective.

This reeked of an ambush from the very first posting though. Cop shot in the back while pumping gas? Doesn't point towards much else than an ambush at first blush.

Can you offer any insight in to the rest of my OP? I'm not at all familiar with the area so...was August just a bad month or is this (for lack of better term) normal for the area?

a reply to: Shamrock6

The area in which he was shot is a quiet suburb, where the crime rate consists of high school kids breaking and entering as the most extreme offense. This is very abnormal, not only in the area, but most of the city. The most you'd expect out of the area in terms of a shooting would be a domestic incident.

The police response right now is massive. Helicopters everywhere, roadblocks, patrols stepped up. Every police department has mobilized as a part of this manhunt, and Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, we have several police departments. It's crazy right now.