Machete-wielding suspect fatally shot by deputy constable in SE Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man armed with a machete was fatally shot by a deputy constable outside a southeast Houston bus station Tuesday morning.

It happened at the Omnibus terminal on Telephone Road and Wayside. According to investigators, the suspect went in to buy a bus ticket, but was told the one he wanted to get on was leaving. The suspect then began causing a disturbance.

An Eyewitness News viewer captured video of a suspect holding a machete moments before he was fatally shot by a police officer in SE Houston.

A Precinct 6 deputy constable responded and encountered the suspect outside being aggressive. According to police, at one point, the suspect reached into a container he had and pulled out a machete. He waved it at her and demanded keys to her patrol car. He then reportedly tried to get inside the vehicle and when he couldn't, he started hitting the vehicle with the machete.

"He was kind of forceful with the machete, and so, we were all a little scared because it was frightening," said Roxanne Herrera, who had taken her family to buy bus tickets and witnessed the incident.

That's when a call for assistance went out and more Precinct 6 deputy constables and Houston police officers responded.

Both deputy constables and HPD officers tried to get the suspect to drop the machete, but he refused. They say he started going around the parking lot, stabbing vehicle gas tanks and trying to light fires.

Taser, gunshots are heard in this abc13 viewer video of a deadly officer-involved shooting in SE Houston Tuesday.

At one point, an officer tried to use a Taser on the suspect, but it wasn't effective. Shortly after, police say the suspect charged an officer with his machete raised and even struck the officer two to three times with the weapon.

Officers shocked the man with a taser before shooting him

It was at that point that a Precinct 6 deputy constable fired at the suspect, killing him.

"I'm wondering like, why are you doing this?" said Linda Morales, who works nearby and saw the man attacking law enforcement. "I thought: Don't be silly, drop it drop it, there are too many against you out there," she recounted. "When we saw the body drop we were real sad because, we don't like to see human life being taken away from anyone."

Investigators say the HPD officer who was hit with the machete was not hurt because the man used the flat side to hit the officer. Both Precinct 6 Constables and the Houston Police Department are investigating.