HOUSTON – A teenager is dead after an officer-involved shooting at an apartment complex in northwest Harris County, deputies said.
The shooting happened around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Villages of Copperfield apartments in the 8000 block of Point Park Drive.
According to officials, an off-duty Navasota police officer lives at the complex and provides security for them. Local 2 was told he witnessed something "suspicious" and possibly drug-related.
The officer approached a white car with three people inside.
"He identified himself as a police officer several times," said Sgt. Greg Pinkins with the Harris County Sheriff's Office. "The driver put the car in reverse and tried to flee pinning the officer between two cars. The deputy discharged his weapon several times at the suspect."
Family members told Local 2 that 17-year-old Jonathen Santellana was shot in the back and died at the hospital.
"It can't be real," said Santellana's grandmother, Rosa Regalado.
Investigators said there were two other people in the car, who are being questioned as witnesses.
After the shooting, Santellana crashed his white car into a pick-up truck and another red car that were nearby. A driver in one of the other vehicles was injured in the crash, but his injuries were not serious.
"He got scared and sped off and lost control after the cop started shooting at him," said one witness who knew Santellana.
The off-duty officer was treated at the scene for minor injuries after being pinned. Investigators said he was not in uniform.