HPD: Machete-wielding man shot by officers in north Harris County

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Two police officers shot a machete-wielding man Thursday afternoon when he refused to drop the weapon, according to Houston Police Assistant Chief Lori Bender. Minutes before, he was smashing windows at a northeast Houston home, she added.

The suspect, in his 30s, was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds to his abdomen and leg. He is expected to survive.

Cell phone video showed the moments after the police shooting. The suspect appeared conscious and moving. Two officers approached cautiously, then one moved potential weapons away. A knife and a machete were left on the ground where the man was shot.

Neighbor Isiah Roberts told Eyewitness News he first heard windows breaking.

"I looked out the window. He (suspect) was chasing him (homeowner) around the truck with a shovel. Three cops showed up, and they told him to put down the shovel," said Roberts, who took the video.

Houston police said the shovel was actually the machete and that the suspect started in the backyard of the home on Estrellita near West Road around noon. He smashed out the back windows and moved to the front. The homeowner was inside and called police.

Chief Bender said, despite officers' multiple commands to drop the machete, the suspect approached them instead.

"He raises the machete, at which time they fired," said Bender, who reviewed body camera video of the shooting.

"That's what got my attention," said neighbor Marilyn Green. She described hearing four gunshots. Next she saw the suspect lying on the ground.

Bender said officers found the hallucinogenic drug, PCP, inside the suspect's truck.

Two officers fired their weapons. They will be assigned desk duty for three days, per department policy.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office will decide what charges the suspect faces. A grand jury will decide whether the shooting was justified.

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