HOUSTON – The 24-year-old carjacking suspect who was shot by officers during a vehicle and foot chase has died, the Houston Police Department announced Wednesday.
Marcelo Alfredo Suarez was pronounced dead on Sunday, March 6.
On Feb. 27, Suarez was shot by police after they said he carjacked a 19-year-old driver and led officers on a high-speed chase through northeast Houston.
HPD Chief Troy Finner said the incident started shortly before 8 a.m. when the 19-year-old, who was driving a tan-colored Chevrolet Tahoe, left his vehicle running while he dropped off trash at a bin on the Southwest Freeway and Hillcroft Street.
In a split second, the teen saw Suarez getting inside the vehicle. The teen initially jumped into the back seat, but hopped back out after Suarez pulled out a handgun, police said.
Suarez took off, and officers spotted the Chevrolet Tahoe at a restaurant at Eastex Freeway and Little York Road, and a short pursuit began.
Suarez drove southbound on the feeder road then lost control of the vehicle and crashed at a median in the 7800 block of Tidwell. He then began fleeing on foot.
Officers and a K9 police dog followed Suarez, and Finner said he pulled out a gun and fired towards them.
Three HPD officers fired back, striking Suarez several times.
Suarez was transported to Ben Taub General Hospital where he later died.
One officer sustained a minor injury, but the two other officers and the K9 were not injured.
The K-9 involved in the shooting was Officer Nate, who has recently returned to the job after being stabbed by another suspect in January.
UPDATE: The suspect fired shots toward K-9 Nate and his handler. We're very fortunate neither was struck.
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) February 28, 2022
More info on the incident is at https://t.co/gRMEE5UCEL
This is Nate at today's scene, his third day back to work after being stabbed by a suspect on Jan 22.#hounews https://t.co/UYgwl5mpos pic.twitter.com/Ja2qGwSKZf
Finner said this is the ninth officer-involved shooting in the city this year.
The three officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
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