An alert resident heard loud banging outside of her home, walked outside and reportedly saw a man trying to break into cars in the 1100 block of Castolan near Veterans Memorial just before 6am. The resident then called 911.
"As deputies pulled up to the residence, they confronted a Hispanic male armed with a revolver. At that point, deputies got out of their vehicle approached the suspect. He then pointed his gun at the deputies," said Deputy Thomas Gilliland with the Harris County Sheriff's Department.
Deputies then asked the man to drop his weapon, which he did not. They say they saw the armed suspect standing by the gate of the fence. The deputies say they ordered the man to drop his weapon several times, but the man pointed his gun at the deputies. Deputies then fired their duty weapons, striking the suspect.
All three deputies fired at the suspect, who is said to be in his 20s. He eventually died at the scene.
Residents living in this northwest Harris County neighborhood say burglaries happen too often to feel safe.
"We're getting a lot of break-ins in cars, houses, gang-related, drug-related," said one neighbor.
"They broke into our house like three times in the last year," said another.
While the investigation continues, all three Harris County deputies involved in this shooting will all be placed on administrative leave, which is standard operating procedure. HCSO says Deputy T. Robinson is a 19-year veteran, while Deputy J. Suazo and Deputy C. Waller are 2-year veterans.
Authorities say the suspect never had a chance to fire his weapon at them, therefore none of the deputies involved in the shooting were injured.
