A manhunt is currently underway in Houston for the gunman who ambushed and killed an on-duty deputy overnight, authorities reported.
The incident started shortly after 10 p.m. on Wednesday when Harris County deputies responded to an aggravated assault at a Little Caesars pizza shop, according to Chief Deputy Mike Lee of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
“What happened is senseless,” Lee stated early Thursday. “The suspect came to the location to pick up a pizza he had ordered.”
Lee explained that the suspect was reportedly upset because the order was incorrect. The suspect allegedly verbally assaulted the employee, then produced a firearm, pistol-whipped the employee, and fled the scene, Lee said.
Lee added that the employee at Little Caesars was able to identify the getaway car by its make and model, color, and license plate.
A deputy later spotted the suspect’s car. Lee recounted that the deputy then had a phone conversation with another detective to inform him that he had the suspect vehicle in sight.
While on the phone, the deputy was apparently ambushed and shot multiple times, Lee said.
Other detectives rushed the 28-year-old deputy to the hospital, where he died from his injuries, Lee reported.
The slain deputy, whose identity has not yet been released, was a five-year veteran of the department and a member of the elite violent persons task force, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
“None of us are ever prepared for such an untimely death, and our members need your prayers and support,” the sheriff wrote on social media. “Our thoughts are with his family as they come to terms with this horrible news. An active investigation is underway to identify and apprehend his killer. We will not rest until we do!”
Lee mentioned that investigators have a good idea of who the suspect is and expect to find him in a timely manner.
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Lee also noted that the slaying comes at a time when “everybody’s on edge” in the Houston area, with more than 1 million people still without power in the state following Hurricane Beryl, which struck on Monday.
