HOUSTON – The case of the fatal shooting of a kidnapping victim by an FBI agent during a raid earlier this year was forwarded to Harris County prosecutors Tuesday, officials said.
Ulises Vallardes, 47, was shot and killed by the federal agent at a home in northeast Houston while a team was trying to rescue him, according to investigators.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said that two agents were breaching a window of a darkened room at the back of the home where Valladares was being held while another team entered the front of the home. The tool being used to break the window fell inside the home, and one of the agents used the front of his rifle to continue the breach, Acevedo said.
Acevedo said that for reasons yet unknown, a bound Valladares grabbed the agent’s rifle and began pulling it. The agent felt that he was about to lose the gun and fired, hitting Valladares, Acevedo said.
Vallardes later died.
Harris County prosecutors said that since the case involves a federal agency, federal prosecutors have been asked about the case.
“The Harris County District Attorney has today formally reached out to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, asking whether the federal government intends to exercise its jurisdiction,” officials said in a written statement.
Meanwhile, three people face charges in connection with Valladares’ kidnapping.