HOUSTON – The man accused of shooting and injuring three Houston Police Department officers surrendered to authorities Thursday night after an hours-long standoff, officials confirmed.
Roland Caballero, 31, has now been charged with three counts of attempted capital murder of a police officer and one count of aggravated robbery.
According to HPD Chief Troy Finner, the Caballero walked out of the home he had been barricaded in with his hands up around 7:45 p.m.
Caballero remains hospitalized after suffering from a gunshot wound to his neck. It’s still unclear if the bullet wound was from an officer’s gun or self-inflicted.
The suspect, who Finner did not exclusively name, was transported to the hospital.
On Thursday, Andy Kahan with Houston Crime Stoppers wrote in a tweet that the suspect was wanted for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and unlawfully carrying a weapon with a felony conviction.
According to a criminal history record from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Caballero has been arrested multiple times since 2008 - when he was 18 years old.
Here’s how the incident began
Houston police responded to a family disturbance call in the 1500 block of Tralle Street around 2:42 p.m.
When Caballero spotted officers, Finner said he took off in a vehicle and led officers on a chase before crashing in the 2100 block of McGowen Street.
Finner said, as the officers exited their vehicles, Cabellero immediately started firing shots, striking three of them. The officers also returned fire, but it was not immediately clear if Caballero was hit during the exchange of gunfire.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: KPRC 2 viewer catches video of the scene where three Houston police officers were shot
Once Caballero was able to get out of the vehicle, Finner said he carjacked a white Mercedes Benz at gunpoint and led officers on another pursuit to a home located in the 1800 block of Lockwood.
The woman who was driving the white Mercedes Benz was said to be shaken up, but OK.
Finner said the suspect then barricaded himself inside of the home on Lockwood and continued to fire multiple shots at officers.
KPRC 2 Investigates obtained a photo of the gun Caballero used during the shootings. Although Finner could not confirm, he said he believes the weapon used was an automatic.
EXCLUSIVE: The gun used today in shootings of Houston Police Department officers.
Posted by KPRC2 Joel Eisenbaum on Thursday, January 27, 2022
Luckily, no officers were injured.
The three wounded officers – N. Gadson, 35, D. Hayden, 32, and A. Alvarez, 28 – were transported to Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center in stable condition. Officers Gadson and Hayden have been released from the hospital. Officer Alvarez remains hospitalized in stable condition.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said one of the officers was shot in the foot, the second in the leg, and the third in the arm.
“The has been a tough week. It has been a tough week for our law enforcement and our city as a whole,” Turner said during a Thursday evening news conference.
The officers are assigned to the Northeast Patrol Division. Officer Gadson was sworn in as an officer in May 2017, Officer Hayden in May 2018 and Officer Alvarez in March 2019.
In response to the recent shootings in Houston, Turner said he plans to announce additional steps that will be taken to help make the city safer.
Mayor Turner released the following statement:
“Three Houston Police Officers were shot in the line of duty today, and I am relieved to hear their injuries are non-life-threatening. My thoughts and prayers go out to them, and I will be at the hospital soon to check on their recovery, thank them for their service and speak to their families. I ask everyone to pray for the officers who were shot and for every law enforcement officer working on the streets of Houston. We live in dangerous times, and it will take all of us working together to make our city safe.”
Chief Finner called on the city of Houston leaders to step up and do more to keep violent offenders off the streets.
“These violent individuals, I’m damn tired of them. We need to stand up as a community and do whatever we have to do. If that means having more jail capacity, let’s get it done. No more excuses,” he said.
Watch the full news conference from Thursday evening in the player below
SEE MORE:
PHOTOS: This is what the scene looked like after the Baytown vigil shooting