The Houston Police Department said it started around 6 a.m. when the man tried to break into the federal courthouse building on Rusk Street in downtown.
When three security officers tried to stop him, the suspect went down the street to the T.C. Energy building on Louisiana Street and broke a window at that location. Police said he had a steel pipe and refused to turn himself in.
That's when one of the guards reached for his weapon and reportedly shot the man in the leg when the suspect hit one of the guards in the hand.
ABC13 crews captured the aftermath of the confrontation between the guards and the suspect, where crime scene tape and shattered glass were left at the scene.
The suspect was taken to Ben Taub Hospital and is expected to survive, according to police.
Investigators said he appeared to be under the influence of something but did not specify what.
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Gas station security guard shoots and kills man who pointed gun: HPD