A gunman shot three cops in Houston in the middle of a wild car chase across the city that ended with him barricaded in a house on Thursday, police said.
The three wounded officers were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and in stable condition, authorities said in a media briefing.
“All three officers are in good spirits, all were talkative,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told reporters after meeting with the officers at Memorial Hermann Hospital.
The gunman was arrested after an hours-long standoff at a house in Houston’s Fifth Ward on Thursday night. He surrendered and walked out of the house with his hands raised at 7:45 p.m.
The suspect had a gunshot wound to the neck, officials said.
Police were called to a home on Trolley Street at 2:42 p.m. over an unspecified disturbance but a man inside spotted cops and ran out of the home. He sped away in a car before crashing at McGowen Street in the city’s Third Ward, Police Chief Troy Finner said.
As police got out of their vehicle, the man opened fire with what is believed to be an automatic weapon and struck the three officers, Finner said. One cop was hit in the leg, another in the arm, and the third in a foot, authorities said.
A video grab from the chaotic scene in Houston’s Fifth Ward, where three cops were shot. ABC13
The shooting took place at the intersection of McGowen and Hutchins streets in Houston. AP
Cops on the scene of the Houston shooting. AP
Houston police collect evidence at the scene of the shooting. Jennifer Lake/Sipa USAPolice returned fire, then the man then carjacked a white Mercedes and sped off with other officers in pursuit. He eventually holed himself up in a house on Lockwood Avenue where he again exchanged gunfire with officers, Finner said.
The man was believed to be alone in the house, with the area having been evacuated. Police were trying to negotiate with the shooter to come out of the home and the SWAT team was seen with tactical gear and a vehicle outside, KHOU-11 reported.
The station identified the shooter Roland Cabellero, citing police sources. Caballero had previously been arrested this year on armed robbery charges, according to the station.
The police chief said he was frustrated with continued violence after a week where two Houston-area sheriff’s deputies were killed in the line of duty.
The incident happened when a car that police were pursuing crashed at an intersection just off Interstate 69 on the southeastern edge of downtown Houston. AP
A manhunt is on for the gunman who shot and wounded the three Houston cops. AP
A Houston PD vehicle riddled with bullet holes after the shooting. AP“No more excuses, everybody, take an active role and get attention in doing whatever you can do to fight gun violence in our city. Period,” Finner said. “It’s not really a difficult thing: Bad, dangerous people there’s a place for them, and that’s in jail.”
The mayor said he and the chief would outline a new campaign against increasing violence next week.
“I ask everyone to pray for the officers who were shot and for every law enforcement officer working on the streets of Houston,” Turner said in a statement provided to The Post. “We live in dangerous times, and it will take all of us working together to make our city safe.”
