EAST HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A man who was wanted for sexual assault of a child was fatally shot by members of the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force in east Harris County Wednesday morning.
This was the second shooting of a suspect in this Woodforest area in two days.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said members of the task force were in the 14600 block of Lourdes Drive, attempting to arrest the fugitive wanted for five counts of sexual assault of a child.
The suspect shot by US Marshal, Harris County deputy fired at officials first in NE Harris County.
He then got into his vehicle, and deputies tried to stop him.
He was wanted for charges out of Jackson County. His name and age were not released.
Gonzalez said no law enforcement officers were injured during the shooting, and this case will be presented to a grand jury.
On Tuesday, another suspect was shot by a US Marshal and Harris County Sheriff’s deputy 10 minutes away from where the shooting happened today, on Black Walnut Street near Beltway 8.
Gonzalez said the suspect fired at law enforcement while they were serving a drug-related warrant.
The suspect was transported to the hospital and expected to survive. No law enforcement officers were injured.
Suspect shot in Drug Raid in Woodforest area
NORTH CHANNEL — In the first of two drugs raids, held on two consecutive days in the Woodforest area, a man was wounded during an officer-involved shooting as members of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force were serving a warrant, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
Members of the task force approached the front door of the home around 6 a.m., knocked and announced themselves, the sheriff’s office said. When no one answered, they knocked down the door.
Investigators said the wanted man had a gun and fired at the officers. A bullet was lodged in one of their shields, they said. At that point a Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy and a U.S. marshal shot him. The man, whose name hasn’t been released, was taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to Gonzalez.
There were six other people, including women and children, inside the home during the shooting but no one else was hurt.
No law enforcement officers were injured, either.
The task force was serving a warrant involving drug felony charges at the home on Black Walnut Drive in the Cloverleaf area in far east Harris County.
U.S. Marshal Thomas Michael O’Connor said the suspect fired at the task force members who breached the home. One of the bullets was found in their shield.
“This enables us to have a force multiplier to go after the worst of the worst in the region and in the Houston area,” O’Connor said. “Unfortunately, this subject decided that he was gonna fire upon our entry team.”
“We do take this very seriously. We do have an accountability process where we have the Harris County District Attorney’s Office investigate,” Major Saul Saurez, HCSO’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, said. “Our internal affairs division, but also we’re doing a thorough investigation with our crime scene unit and also our homicide unit.”
What is the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force?
The Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force is a task force that is made up of local, state, and federal agents and local police officers. Their mission is to go after the most violent offenders.