HOUSTON — A Texas police officer was fatally shot at an intersection in Houston on Tuesday while driving to work, police said.
The officer was in his own vehicle, an SUV, and had stopped at an intersection in West Houston when a man got out of his car, walked up to the officer and shot him about 12:30 p.m., Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said. The suspect fired multiple times.
According to preliminary information, the officer, whose name was not immediately released, was not wearing a uniform when he was shot, Diaz said.
Police were still trying to determine a motive for the shooting and whether the officer was targeted, Diaz said. They were investigating whether it was a case of road rage.
“It’s a terrible thing for the community to lose someone’s life, someone who has dedicated their life to public service,” Diaz said. “It’s absolutely tragic.”
The deputy had been working for the office of Harris County Precinct 4 Officer Mark Herman since 2021.
Herman said in a statement that the officer was taken to a Houston hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“We are saddened by the killing of one of our Precinct 4 officers on his way to work today,” Herman said.
Police said they were looking for the suspect, described as a 35- to 40-year-old man with dark, thinning hair, wearing a dark shirt and pants. The suspect was driving a charcoal gray Chevy Impala with a unique bumper deformity under the car, Diaz said.
