(HOUSTON) — A Texas constable deputy was fatally shot and two other deputies were wounded in what police are calling an “ambush” early Saturday morning outside a Houston nightclub.
The incident unfolded around 2:15 a.m. at the 45 North Bar and Lounge in the 4400 block of the North Freeway near Crosstimbers, Houston Police said.
Three Harris County Precinct 4 constable deputies were working an extra job at the club when they went outside to address “a disturbance” that “may have been a robbery,” Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief James Jones said during a press conference.
When they were wrestling with the suspect to either arrest or detain him, “we believe they were ambushed, shot from behind, by a suspect with a rifle,” Jones said. In total, three constable deputies were shot.
The suspected shooter was described as a Hispanic male in his early 20s. No futher information was made available.
As Chief Jones said earlier, our hearts go out to the families of the deputies and the men & women of Harris County Pct. 4.
Currently, there are no updates in the investigation. Any developments in the case will be posted here.#hounews https://t.co/B9s2CCCneX
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) October 16, 2021
Constable for Precinct 4 Mark Herman said one deputy was shot in the back and underwent surgery, another was shot in the foot who was to go into surgery, and a third was deceased at the hospital.
He described the incident as “Probably one of the toughest things I’ve done in my career.”
“We hope to have a suspect in custody soon and I hope for swift and quick justice for that individual because he ambushed my deputies,” Herman added.
The Houston Police Department is investigating the shooting.
One person of interest is in custody, but Jones said officials were not sure if he was a witness or a suspect.
“This is very tragic. I do believe that good always trumps evil and what happened tonight was evil,” Herman said.
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