1 person shot during altercation with officers on METRORail light train near Midtown, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- One person was shot, and an officer was injured after a shooting inside a METRORail train, according to the Houston Police Department.

The incident happened in the 4500 block of Main Street. Officials said that two METRO officers who were patrolling the area stopped a person on the platform. Soon after, a physical fight broke out that spilled into the train.

Jason Hruska recorded the chaos around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Hruska spoke with ABC13 regarding the incident.

"He told them, 'Just leave me alone'. He tried to walk off,"Hruska recalled. " The cops walked over there, followed behind him, and then he turned around and pushed off on the cop."

HPD said they do not know why METRO police initially stopped the man.

"They followed him on the train, and they were wrestling with this dude inside the train," Hruska said.

"It quickly escalated," Houston Police Assistant Chief Kevin Deese said. "The suspect made verbal threats to kill the officers."

At some point, according to police, the suspect put one of the officers in a chokehold, causing the second officer to shoot the suspect somewhere in the lower body.

"We believe the officer was on the ground in some form of a chokehold that was jeopardizing his safety, " Deese said.

An officer's taser was reportedly used during the scuffle but had no effect.

Both the officers suffered minor injuries and were checked out at the scene.

The suspect was transported to a nearby hospital, where they are expected to be OK, according to police.

During the fight, officials said that one of the officers lost their body camera. It cannot be reviewed since it is a part of the crime scene.

This is the fifth incident in recent days that has occurred at a METRORail stop.

On Oct. 29, a woman was stabbed to death by a man, who was arrested and placed on a $500,000 bond.

One man was beaten with a baseball bat after fighting with a group of teenagers at the light rail stop at Fulton and Calvacade on Dec. 15.

Four days before Thanksgiving, on Nov. 21, a man was fatally stabbed inside the tram after getting into an altercation in the 100 block of Rusk Street.

On Dec. 7, a man was grazed by a bullet during a fight near a stop at South Gessner Road.