Man acting 'erratic' shot, killed by officer responding to welfare call in NE Houston, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man reportedly acting "erratic and threatening" was shot and killed by a Houston Police Department officer in the city's Denver Harbor neighborhood on Wednesday, according to officials.

The shooting happened in the 400 block of Rouse Street near Laredo Street, across from a school that went into lockdown, police said.

Officers said they received a welfare call at about 1:34 p.m. from the man's brother, who said he was acting out by allegedly threatening neighbors and was possibly under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Twelve minutes after the call, officers arrived and found the man at the front door, reportedly combative and threatening.

Officials said the two officers tried for several minutes to talk and calm the man down, but he resisted, made threats, and went inside the home, where officers followed.

According to HPD Executive Chief Larry Satterwhite, the man threatened to retrieve a gun and shoot the officers.

In response, the officers inside deployed their Tasers, out of fear, to subdue the man, but he was unaffected, as he pulled out the stun gun's darts and moved further into the kitchen, Satterwhite explained.

That is when the officers said they witnessed the man come up after reaching for something, causing one of them to fire their gun several times, hitting the man, according to HPD.

The officers then called for medical help, but the man was pronounced dead.

According to Satterwhite, there is extensive training for de-escalation tactics within the police department, and the goal is to resolve the situations with no lives lost.

The man was said to be 46 years old, and officials have not determined if he has any history of mental health issues, HPD said.

Per policy, the officers have been placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation. One officer has been with the department for a year, and the other for four years.

Officials did not disclose which officer fired the shots.