HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Harris County Constable Precinct 4 Deputy Juqaim Barthen was released from Memorial Hermann Hospital Downtown Wednesday after he was injured over the weekend in an ambush outside a north Houston bar.
Barthen and fellow Precinct 4 deputies Kareem Atkins and Darrell Garrett were working an extra shift at 45 Norte Bar and Lounge early Saturday when the shooting occurred. At about 2:12 a.m. Atkins and Garrett responded to a report of a robbery outside the bar. As they were attempting to arrest a robbery suspect, a man with an AR-15 rifle ambushed the pair, striking both deputies. Upon hearing the gunshots, Barthen rushed outside to aid his fellow deputies and was also shot, the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office said.
RELATED: How to help families of ambushed Pct. 4 Deputies Kareem Atkins, Darryl Garrett and Juqaim Barthen
Atkins died from his injuries. He was 30. Atkins began working with Precinct 4 in January 2019. He had recently returned from paternity leave. He leaves behind a wife and two-month-old child.
Both Barthen and Garrett were wounded in the shooting and were were transported from the scene to Memorial Hermann Hospital Downtown. Barthem joined Precinct 4 in September 2019. Garrett joined in March 2018. Garrett remains hospitalized.
The ambush that killed Atkins and wounded Deputies Garrett and Barthen remains under investigation by the Houston Police Department. Anyone with information regarding the gunman is urged to report it to the HPD Homicide Division at (713) 308-3600 or Crime Stoppers of Houston at (713) 222-TIPS.