HOUSTON – A suspect has died after a police chase ended in a shootout in Sugar Land, Houston Police Department officers said Wednesday.
The shooting happened on Highway 59 near Highway 90 at around 1:30 a.m.
HPD Commanders and PIO are on scene of an officer involved shooting at US Hwy 59 near Hwy 90 The intersection underneath the overpass will be closed for on going investigation. Please avoid the area and seek alternate routes. Briefing will be live streamed here. #HouNews pic.twitter.com/UlXKVeoP6L
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) February 15, 2023
According to Houston police chief Troy Finner, officers were at a Valero in the 4000 block of Synott just after 10 p.m. Officers said they observed an unoccupied vehicle that had two guns, some type of assault rifle, a pistol, and some drugs inside. Finner said at about 1 a.m., after officers watched the vehicle for some time, the suspect got in and drove off. Officers tried to initiate a traffic stop, but a pursuit ensued through the west side of Houston for nearly 20 minutes, Finner said. The pursuit came to an end right at the intersection of 59 and 90.
Finner said that at some point, the suspect displayed a weapon and fired at officers while he was still inside the vehicle. Officers fired back at the suspect, hitting him, HPD said. Seven officers were involved in the incident, according to Finner. Finner said the suspect, who was 27 years old, was pronounced dead by responding paramedics. It is unknown how many times he was shot.
According to HPD, officers M. Meyer, A. Reyes, R. Trevino, A. Abreu-Maldonado, T. Hansen, G. Greenlea, and Z. Thomas, who discharged their duty weapons, were not injured in the incident. Officers Meyers and Reyes, assigned to the Gang Division, were sworn in as officers in April 2015 and Officer Trevino, also assigned to the Gang Division, was sworn in as an officer in Aug. 1999, the department said. Officers Abreu-Maldonado and Hansen, assigned to the Westside Patrol Division, were sworn in as officers in May 2019 and Aug. 2020, respectively, according to HPD. Officers Greenlea and Thomas, assigned to the South Gessner Patrol Division, were sworn in as officers in Jan. 2018.
The officers have been placed on administrative leave as the HPD Special Investigations Unit and the Internal Affairs Division, the Department of Public Safety and the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office investigate the incident.
The intersection underneath the overpass is closed as the investigation continues.
Finner said the suspect was on the phone with his family when the incident occurred.
“We ask for prayers for that family and also the officers,” Finner said.