Suspect fatally shot, deputy critically injured after 20-minute pursuit in north Houston, officials say

HOUSTON – A suspect was fatally shot Wednesday night and a Harris County constable deputy was critically injured and transported by Life Flight to a local hospital following a 20-minute pursuit in north Houston, authorities said.

The deputy remains in critical but stable condition, according to a news release from Houston police Thursday afternoon.

Harris County Precinct 1 deputies said the 39-year-old suspect was first seen by witnesses in a church parking lot ramming into other vehicles. The incident was called in as a family disturbance. Deputies said when they found the suspect, he was driving the wrong way on W. Hardy Road. Authorities said they thought the man was a drunken driver.

Deputies said they attempted to pull the vehicle over around 10 p.m. but the driver refused to stop, leading deputies on a chase for about 20 minutes.

During that time, deputies said they ran the license plate on the vehicle and determined the vehicle was stolen. The chase ended near the 1200 block of Mitchell Road, investigators say.

Deputies said the suspect ran the stolen vehicle into the side of a house and when the deputy constable got out of the car to approach the suspect, the suspect ran over the deputy constable. The suspect’s vehicle dragged the deputy constable approximately 20 feet until the suspect struck a marked constable vehicle that had moved in place to blocked his path, according to an HPD news release. The home may belong to a family member the suspect was in conflict with, investigators said.

Investigators say five Precinct 1 deputies and a Houston Police Department officer fired shots at the driver, striking the suspect as he was in the driver’s seat of the crashed vehicle. The suspect died at the scene, deputies said.

The deputy constable was taken by helicopter to the hospital, deputies said.

During the shooting, one Precinct 1 Constable sergeant was struck in the left leg by a ricocheted bullet. Paramedics treated the sergeant at the scene.

Neighbors described hearing the gunshots outside.

“It’s scary,” one neighbor said. “It’s very scary because our friends were leaving and they got scared too, they said, ‘Can we just go back inside the house?’ Thinking, you know, maybe bullets might come flying down. It’s just it’s worrisome, there’s kids out here and it really scary shouldn’t be happening.”

The suspect’s identity hasn’t been released at this time.

Officials said the 34-year-old constable deputy that was injured has been with Precinct 1 for four years now.

HPD noted that, as is customary when a law enforcement officer discharges a weapon in the city limits of Houston, the incident is being investigated by the HPD Special Investigations Unit and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.