3 Police Officer Shot Houston Shootout
Authorities investigate the scene of a shooting Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, in Houston. Authorities say a police chase in Houston ended with a shootout that wounded three officers. ( Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

By Juan A. Lozano and Terry Wallace, AP

A suspect led Houston police on a chase Thursday that ended with him wounding three officers in a shootout, stealing a car and barricading himself inside a home for hours before surrendering, authorities said.

The incident began about 2:40 p.m. as officers responded to a family disturbance call at a home in northeast Houston, Police Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference.

All three injured officers were in stable condition after being taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital. Two officers were transported by another patrol officer’s vehicle while the Houston Fire Department took the third.

One of the officers was shot in the arm, another was shot in the leg and the third was shot in the foot, said Doug Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union.

“We are just grateful to God they are all right,” Finner said.


Police had responded to a report of a shooting at the home of the suspect’s girlfriend, according to Griffith. When officers arrived, the suspect, whose name had not been released by authorities, fled in a vehicle and led police on a chase for several miles.

The chase ended when the suspect’s vehicle crashed at an intersection in a residential neighborhood just off Interstate 69 on the southeastern edge of downtown Houston.

“Officers, as they got out of vehicle, the suspect immediately fired upon officers, striking three officers. All the officers returned fire,” Finner said.

It was not known if the officers’ gunfire injured the suspect. Finner said it’s possible the suspect fired more than 50 rounds. Officers described the gun the suspect used as “a fully automatic weapon,” he said.

The suspect fled the scene and carjacked at gunpoint a white Mercedes, Finner said. He then drove to a home located several miles northeast of where the crash occurred.

Officers surrounded the home. The suspect fired multiple times but did not hit any of the officers, who returned fire, Finner said.

The suspect remained barricaded in the home until about 7:45 p.m. Thursday when he emerged with hands up from the unit where police believed he lived, Finner said. The man, whose identity police did not immediately release, was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck, the chief said.

The suspect was believed to be the only person in the home. It was not immediately known why he went there, Finner said.

Mayor Sylvester Turner said he visited the wounded officers and found them talkative and in good spirits.

Turner said Thursday’s shooting highlighted the dangers law enforcement faces each day and the rising violent crime that has affected Houston and other U.S. cities the last couple of years.

Finner said it’s been “a tough week for law enforcement” in Houston. On Sunday, a Houston-area deputy constable was fatally shot during a traffic stop, and a Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy was fatally struck by a vehicle early Monday as he stood by his motorcycle while blocking a Houston highway exit ramp during an off-duty job escorting heavy machinery.

Turner said that he and Finner planned to announce next week “some additional steps” the city will take to address rising crime in Houston.

“It’s going to take all of us working together to have a very safe city,” Turner said.

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46 COMMENTS

  1. Just a wild guess, but I predict he’ll be bonded out while they go after the real dangerous folks. You know, the ones with the bump stocks, 80% lowers, etc!!

    • It would have been a justifiable and reasonable use of deadly force to shoot him in the back while he was running away. “Fleeing felon” rule applies for deadly force given the circumstances. I wonder what Houston’s use of force policy is on the matter. SCOTUS and national industry standard for deadly force says it’s okay to shoot the guy in the back while he’s
      running away, but the law will hold the officers to the more restrictive standard if the department policy forbids it.

      • Texas Richard,

        You bring up a good point about that circumstance:
        – a person just attempted to murder you
        – that person is running away with gun in hand
        – that person could turn and shoot at you at any instant

        In my opinion that person is still a credible, imminent threat of death or great bodily harm. If that meets the “reasonable person standard”, then the police would still be legally justified to use deadly force.

        • Too bad the guy filming from the window wasn’t armed. If I’d witnessed that exchange of gunfire, I may have been tempted to drop the assailant from the window to safeguard the police.

          I sure didn’t hear any full auto gunfire in that video, either.

  3. OH how I hate stupid people! This was not “fully automatic” at least nothing recorded is! What was heard was clearly someone with an AVERAGE trigger finger quite capable of doing! The round count cycle rate was about 200rd per min NOT 600-1200 of a full Auto pistol! For those who are real stupid go to youtube and LISTEN to the rate try keeping up with your trigger finger. NOW back to our regularly scheduled indoctrination of liberal B.S.!

    • That’s what I thought too, not fully automatic and basically fast trigger pulls on a semi-auto. It sure didn’t sound like a fully-automatic fire rate, but much lower like fast trigger pulls on a semi-auto which basically anyone with a finger can do.

      • I don’t even have to see it up close to tell, the poor accuracy states unequivocally he was slapping the trigger ferociously. I suppose it’s good he didn’t have proper training (and trigger discipline) the anti’s go on & on about.

        And, he wasn’t very fast on either. But hey, they are going to claim FA regardless of the facts. Disinformation campaign, situation normal…

    • I agree with the assessment of the sound of the gunfire. Too slow for a fully auto weapon which appeared to be a handgun when he was running. Notice they did not immediately identify the “suspect”. Because this is a democrat run City we immediately know he wasn’t a white right wing neo-Nazi type male. So his rap sheett is probably longer than can be listed to print and he was released on “no bail” bond just because it is the social justice thing to do.

  6. The more cops get shot and shot at the more risky it will be for you when a cop pulls you over.
    Most think we’re all lying scum bags to start with, now we’re all going to be armed lying scum bags.

    • This probably won’t come as a shock to you, but cops always assume that you are armed; The lying scumbag part is not a given. If you confirm their suspicion that you are, in fact, a lying scumbag by failing the ‘Hello!’ Test, the rest of the encounter will be much more unpleasant than it could have been.

        • The people who can shoot you with next to zero repercussions – being polite isn’t bending the knee, it’s just good manners. Robert Heinlein has a great quote about manners being the lubricant of civilized society. Besides, there’s few little things more satisfying than being polite and civil to some jerk 😎

  8. Houston is the city where a group of police officers conspired to have an innocent white couple murdered in a police raid. It is also the city that it’s proud g@y lady mayor colluded with the ACLU to deny the Civil Rights of Christian pastors. These crimes and others were not so well reported on by the local press. Or the national press. This is not fully automatic gun fire. Once again the media is proving former President Trump’s statement to be true.

    “The media are the enemy of the people.”

    • If you have ever been to Houston it is possibly the worst city in Texas. Which really is too bad being right next to the ocean. Unfortunately the Police problem is widespread everywhere. There really is no accountability and has not been for years. I regard the Police as one of the Standing Armies the Founders of this country warned us about. Not saying good Police do not exsist just that the system is severely broken. I’ve personally dealt with Officers who wrote me tickets for no other reason than they know I’m no driving 1,000 Miles 3 months from now to fight the ticket in court.

      • As I have said before TTAG. The police should be disarmed. They should be issued night sticks only. And the training to use them.

        After the year 2020 the police have proven to me, that they are completely unreliable. They will stand down when ordered to do so. And allow cities to be burned to the ground and the law-abiding killed at will, by Democrat Party affiliated criminals.

        My problem with the Libertarians is that they have an irrational hatred of the police. And not all, but many of them, seem to have a love affair with criminals. I don’t believe Libertarians are a reliable defender of Liberty. Because while they have an irrational hatred of the police and an irrational hatred of government in general.

        They are not willing to take the next logical step. To repeal the laws that prevent law-abiding people from whatever force is necessary. Including deadly force. Let the law abiding kill to protect private property. The Libertarians don’t have the guts for that. And they are comfortable seeing the Cities Burn and private property destroyed by rioters.

        Their non-aggression principle is worthless.

        But here is a Libertarian who is willing to do the right thing. And to call for the laws to be repealed, so that he, and people like me, can do what needs to be done.

        From June 2020

        “Sure. Defund the Police. But no more taxation. No more gun control laws.” video 2 min long

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR4V8Wko9sY

      • “I regard the Police as one of the Standing Armies the Founders of this country warned us about. Not saying good Police do not exsist just that the system is severely broken.”

        The police officers who follow orders to stand down. And allow cities to be burned and the innocent murdered at will. Are just as bad as the police officer who is taking bribes, for him to look the other way. As criminals do as they please. Without interference from law enforcement.

        Unfortunately, in both examples, and yours, the bad cops, outnumber the good cops. And I like the police. But as I said before, they are now totally unreliable.

        We would be a much safer Society if the majority of Americans own machine guns. We would all be much more polite to each other. Including the police. They would be much nicer to everyone as well.

        • Dude what libertarians are you always ranting about? Real libertarians do not support any maluium prohibitum BS that prosecutes people for victimless crimes. Real libertarians want rid of the govt excess all around, both of the statute variety and the enforcement and taxation variety. All authoritarianism is rejected. I swear you confuse libertarians as an ideology with some of those clown California and Colorado republican types (social leftists that hate paying taxes basically) that hold significant power in the libertarian party…a party that most self described libertarians don’t even vote for due to presidential nominees like William Weld by the aforementioned leftist subversives that hold power in the libertarian party.

        • to muhmauser
          “Real libertarians do not support any maluium prohibitum BS that prosecutes people for victimless crimes.”

          Once again another libertarian avoiding the issue. Is rioting or arson a victimless crime???

  9. Get the hell out of cities. I’m so happy I live in the boonies. I’m so happy I have the right to carry, that it hasn’t been taken away from me by scumbag politicians. So I can’t go to some middle-brow casual restaurant when I want. So I can’t go to the mall to by foreign-made junk I don’t need. So I can’t go to the theater and have to put up morons shouting at the screen or yapping on their cell phones. I’ve got wide open nature at my doorstep.

    Civilization is crumbling before our eyes. The power of the pagans, the degenerates, and the savages is waxing strong. If things don’t turn around, and soon, we will enter a new Dark Age.

    Prepare accordingly.

  14. I’d expect to see a continued increase in these sort of incidents clustered first in border states and then moving elsewhere.

    BG shooting skills will probably increase a bit but ammo capacity will likely increase big time.

    Moving forward in time, the first time the cops really run across some serious dudes it’s gonna be wall-to-wall nationwide coverage because that incident may very well have them up against real FA and people who know how to use them. LE’s gonna take some losses on that one.

    Cartels have been taking serious advantage for the last couple of years and eventually they’re going to have some of their heavier hitters get caught on this side of the border. Those dudes are unlikely to go to jail.

    But don’t worry, .gov is all over it. By which I mean they’re busy acting as a travel agency for anyone who hops the border and now are releasing known terrorists into places like Michigan.

  15. In the beginning of the fight that I saw from a security camera filming, it sounds like a brief bout of automatic fire.

    Not sure what those officers are doing running all around the open and away from their vehicles

  17. He was inside his car, assuming he was returning fire and managed to exit the passenger side, with an officer less than 15 yards behind, as per the video and still managed to run, I mean outrun the three officers seen. The fire rate was unquestionably not from a full automatic weapon and as he is running you can see he is holding a pistol of some type with an extended mag, I am guessing a Glock 9mm with a thirty rounder and possible back up mags and not one of the officers uses a knee to get of a clean shot at say 100 yards. Maybe there were objects behind him that made this ill advisable, don’t mean to second guess this. I do believe the police would have been justified in a kill shot in this case and I do believe one was possible at the range i saw in the video, he was running away in a straight line.
    One last thing, the ammo used by the police did not seem to have adequate penetration capability to stop the suspect while he was inside the automobile. [?]

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