One injured in officer-involved shooting in Montrose

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- An off-duty Houston police officer, Sgt. J Yencha, pulled a gun and shot a young man who he said pointed a gun at him during an attempted robbery.

The incident began when the officer spotted four juveniles inside a vehicle parked on Indiana St., at Woodhead in the Montrose area. That is when investigators say the driver began following the officer's car.

The officer says he feared for his life when he saw the driver get out of his vehicle and point a gun at him.

The officer identified himself and gave verbal commands. He says that is when the man ran towards him with a pistol pointed at him.

He fired his gun at the man, injuring him.

Resident Bob Brown was just about to go to sleep when he says he heard six gunshots down the street.

"I debated getting up and getting my shotgun and loading it because somebody might try and come into our house to escape," Brown said. "Who would rob a police officer in uniform?" asked Brown.

The four people in the vehicle raced away on Morse Street, but did not get far when police found them a short time later on Webster.

They were found on Webster along with the getaway car and a pistol. The juvenile who was shot was taken to the hospital while the three who were with him were taken downtown for questioning. Police haven't released the name of the young man, since he is a juvenile.

"It makes you think maybe they had something personal against officer," said Mindy Billom, who lives nearby.

Billom's surveillance cameras in front of her house caught dark video of police arriving moments after the shooting, but she says she didn't see anything. Her next-door neighbors did see something.

"We heard someone crying out in agony right outside the house," said Steven Small.

He and his girlfriend, Charli Fritz, were watching a movie when they heard the shots. They went to the window to see what happened.

"We came outside and saw someone hurriedly jump into the back of the car," said Fritz.