Deputy who died while responding to stabbing in northwest Harris County identified

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Saturday, July 6, 2019
Harris County deputy dies after responding to stabbing
The deputy was responding to a scene where a woman was found stabbed 10 times when he collapsed while hanging crime scene tape.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A deputy died shortly after responding to a scene in which a woman was found stabbed 10 times inside a home, says Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

It happened on Stone Pine Lane near Blazey Drive, close to Cypress Ridge High School.

Gonzalez tweeted around 6:30 a.m. Saturday saying 39-year-old deputy Omar Diaz suffered a medical crisis.

ABC13 Eyewitness News was told Diaz collapsed while hanging crime scene tape, and began experiencing seizures.

Diaz was sent to a hospital, where Gonzalez said doctors were unable to keep him alive.

He leaves behind a wife and daughter.

"Deputy Diaz served his community with honor and distinction," said Gonzalez. "The entire Harris County Sheriff's Office family is grieved by the tragic loss of our brother."

Deputy Diaz began his career at the Harris County Sheriff's Office as a detention officer in 2009.

He graduated from the Sheriff's Office basic peace officer's course in August of 2018.

Diaz was most recently assigned to patrol in the Crossroads Park subdivision in northwest Harris County.

Authorities say his cause of death will be determined by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science.

Deputies received the call about the stabbing when a man came home around 4 a.m. and found the injured woman inside.

The man told investigators she does not live at the home.

Deputies told ABC13 Eyewitness News the woman was found with stab wounds to her arms, legs and back.

She was sent to the hospital for surgery.

In a press conference, deputies said the woman is expected to survive.