Man who threatened to take his own life shot by deputy after pointing rifle at law enforcement in NW Harris County

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – An armed man was shot by a deputy in northwest Harris County Sunday.

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The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said it happened in the 9600 block of Halkirk Street. near Bonnie Sean Drive.

Major Jesse Razo with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the incident started at 6:50 p.m. when 911 dispatchers received a call from a 44-year-old man threatening to take his own life.

“He told our dispatchers that he had a gun pointed to his head,” Razo said.

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Deputies arrived within 10 minutes of the call and requested a mental health unit. When asked, Razo was unsure whether the unit had been able to make it to the scene before the shooting happened, but said they were requested.

Deputies were able to make contact with the man using a cell phone.

“They gave him many opportunities to come out and surrender. He eventually came out, went and ran back in the house, came out a second time with what has been described as a shotgun, he had it draped over his shoulder,” Razo said.

Deputies gave the man commands to drop the weapon, but he did not. Instead, the man ran back inside the house before coming back outside with a different weapon, this time a semi-automatic rifle.

“This time, he pointed the weapon at our deputies and one of our deputies shot multiple times, striking the suspect once in the upper torso,” Razo said.

Deputies ran up, handcuffed the man and began administering first aid to him until EMS arrived at the scene.

The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Razo said the man has since had surgery and is now in stable condition. He is expected to recover.

Razo said the deputy who fired his weapon is 37-years-old and has been with the sheriff’s office for five years. He will be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which is standard policy whenever an officer has to use their weapon.

Razo said no one else was in the house. The man is expected to be charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

No deputies were hurt.