HOUSTON, TEXAS – An off-duty Harris County deputy constable was forced to defend himself and his family against a heavily armed home intruder in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 20th. Unfortunately, both his wife and his daughter suffered gunshot wounds during the violent home invasion which occurred around 2:00 a.m. at The Viv Apartments in the 2200 block of West Dallas Street.
Officers from the Houston Police Department responded but were unable to locate the suspect at or near the scene. According to HPD Chief Troy Finner, a blood trail was discovered leading away from the scene, and the deputy told officers that he believed that he hit the intruder with return fire.
The deputy told investigators that he and his family were asleep when he was awakened by someone breaking in. He confronted the suspect and the two exchanged gunfire before the suspect fled the apartment. The deputy’s wife was shot in the leg and his four-year-old daughter was shot in the arm, an injury that required surgery. Both mother and daughter were in stable condition and expected to survive.
According to Chief Finner, it could have been much worse. During a press conference, he stated that the intruder “was armed with a shotgun and some type of assault rifle” and “shot several times into that apartment.”
Sunday evening around 5:40 p.m. HPD officers received information on the suspect’s location, in the 500 block of West Greens Road. As SWAT officers attempted to serve a warrant on the suspect, he fired on officers, drove two blocks, and fired on them again. He crashed into a tree and fired on officers a third time. Officers returned fire, hitting him multiple times. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
HPD described him as a 27-year-old Hispanic male who has a history of mental illness. His family was cooperative with police. Investigators were not immediately able to determine if the deputy, who was not injured, was targeted or if the invasion was a random act.
