HPD: Officer shoots armed suspect
A Houston police officer shot a suspected car thief who pointed a gun at him after a short pursuit, authorities said.
The man, who has not been identified, lost control of a stolen Chevrolet Tahoe about 2 p.m. Friday along the East Freeway near Normandy.
The sport utility vehicle flipped over and came to rest on the westbound service road in front of a tire store.
“He (the driver) gets out of the vehicle and has a gun in his hand,” said Jodi Silva, a Houston Police Department spokeswoman.
The pursuing HPD officer, later identified as N. Escobar, gave the driver several commands to drop the weapon and surrender, police said.
The driver turned toward Escobar and another HPD officer with the gun in his hand.
“The officer (Escobar) was in fear for his life and discharged his duty weapon,” Silva said.
The man continued running even after he was shot.
Escobar told investigators he saw him throw something onto the roof of a tire store just before he surrendered. It was a pistol, believed to be the one he was carrying, authorities said.
The manwas taken to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he was last listed in critical condition, police said.
Escobar was not injured. He is a 29-year HPD veteran assigned to the department’s Northeast Patrol Division,
The police chase began after Escobar was sent to investigate reports of people breaking into cars parked outside a sporting goods store.
The injured man and a second person matched the description of the car burglars. The second person had been knocked to the ground by his accomplice, who fled in the stolen SUV, police said.
The second manwas taken into custody at the store parking lot. He was still being questioned late Friday. It wasn’t clear what charges he could face.
The shooting is being investigated by HPD homicide and internal affairs detectives. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office also is investigating — a standard practice in such situations.