3 arrested, including 13-year-old, after shootout with deputies in NW Harris County
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Residents of a northwest Harris County apartment complex were shaken when a gunfight broke out between seven robbery suspects and deputies.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office say 19-year old Javier Lopez was killed in the melee. Joshua White, 17, and two juveniles, 13 and 15 year old's were arrested.
Joshua White, 17.
Authorities say White and the two juveniles have been charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.
A large law enforcement presence shut down the area around Point Park Drive near Highway 6 as they searched for the suspects. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez urged residents and anyone in the area to stay away while the scene was active.
Gonzalez said 10-11 deputies and one Cy-Fair ISD police officer fired their weapons. No officers were injured in the shootout.
WATCH: SHERIFF TELLS RESIDENTS TO STAY AWAY
This all began before 3:15 p.m. Friday, when a food delivery driver called 911 to report he had been robbed by at least four suspects.
Deputies and a Precinct 4 Constable deputy, who was working an extra job at the complex, were directed to a vacant apartment where the suspects were hiding.
When deputies found one of the suspects in the back of the Circle at Point Park apartment complex, he allegedly pulled out a gun and shot at deputies.
"That's when the dude came running around from the back and he actually had a gun in his left hand. He raised it. That's when they opened fire on him," said Christopher Harland, who shared intense cell phone video of the shootout with ABC13.
Sheriff Gonzalez says during a foot pursuit Lopez fired several shots at deputies, and eventually stopped near the leasing office and pointed his gun towards deputies.
Lopez was shot by deputies and died on the scene.
The incident left apartment residents understandably frightened. We watched as one man called his wife, who is inside their apartment with children.
WATCH: GUNFIRE ERUPTS AT NW HARRIS CO. APARTMENTS
"I told her to go to the closet, grab her gun and sit with the kids," he told Eyewitness News. "This is the first time I've ever encountered anything like this. It's scary."
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