HPD: Off-duty officer fatally shoots suspect

A suspected robber is dead after a confrontation involving a Houston police officer.

The shooting happened at about 6pm at an Exxon gas station, on the feeder of the North Freeway at Greens Road.

According to Houston Police Department spokesperson, Victor Senties, an off-duty officer was working a department-approved extra job when he fired his weapon at a suspect. The suspect died at the scene.

Eyewitnesses say a man was trying to rob another man when two motorcyclists stepped in to help. They grabbed tools and even their helmets to detain the suspect.

"He jumped in there, old boy hit him with that wrench, bled him. I grabbed my hammer and started swinging on him," said Terrence Bowie, one of the motorcyclists.

Bowie and his cousin had stopped at the gas station with mechanical problems. He was on the phone with his wife when the police officer pulled up.

"All of a sudden, he's like 'everything's OK, everything's OK.' All of a sudden I hear the phone drop and pop, pop, pop, gunshots. He screamed my name and the phone turned off," described Bowie's wife, Olga Shuminov.

Bowie says they dropped their tools and helmets when the officer ordered them to. They then directed him to the man in the pick-up truck.

"The officer approaches the pick-up truck to see what's going on and he looks inside and he sees the suspect with something in his hand which appears to be a shotgun. The suspect, at that point, appears to raise what he's got in his hand and points it in the direction of the officer. Obviously, fearing for his safety, the officer begins to retreat to put distance between him and the perceived threat. He discharges his weapon several times and the suspect is struck," said Senties.

Senties didn't know whether the suspect had a shotgun. As of the last update, they hadn't entered the bullet-riddled truck and the suspect's body remained. He has not been identified.

The officer was in uniform working for the Greenspoint Management District. As is policy after officer-involved shootings, he'll be on administrative duty.

The investigation is underway and the case will be presented to a Harris County grand jury for review.