HOUSTON — The suspect accused of shooting three Houston police officers Thursday was taken into custody after a standoff at a home in the Fifth Ward, Houston Police said.
HPD Chief Troy Finner said the suspect surrendered after getting into a standoff with officers for a few hours.
Here's what we know:
- Shots were fired at end of a chase in the Third Ward area around 2:45 p.m.
- Three officers were shot
- All three are stable at Memorial Hermann Hospital
- The suspect fled after carjacking a white Mercedes
- Standoff at Lyons and Lockwood connected to shooting scene
- Suspect identified as Roland Caballero
- Caballero has a gunshot wound to his neck
- Caballero was taken into custody around 7:45 p.m.
According to the Houston Police Department, the officers were shot in the 2100 block of McGowen Street, at the intersection of Hutchins Street.
The officers -- who are all expected to recover -- are Officer N. Gadson, 35, who has been with HPD for four years, Officer D. Hayden, 32, who's been with the force for three years, and Officer A. Alvarez, 28, who's been a Houston police officer for two years. All of them work out of northeast patrol, according to the Houston Police Department.
All three officers were taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital.
After the shootout on McGowen, police said the suspect carjacked a white Mercedes and fled the scene. The driver of the Mercedes was not injured.
According to law enforcement sources, the suspect is Roland Caballero. They said he was taken into custody after a lengthy standoff at a residence on Lockwood Drive. He had a gunshot wound to his neck when he was taken into custody. It's unknown if the wound was self-inflicted or if he was struck by officers' gunfire.
According to court records, Caballero was recently charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and unlawful carrying of a weapon due to a felony conviction. He has at least three other felony convictions, according to records.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner issued this statement Thursday:
“Three Houston police officers were shot in the line of duty today, and I am relieved to hear their injuries are non-life-threatening. My thoughts and prayers go out to them, and I will be at the hospital soon to check on their recovery, thank them for their service and speak to their families. I ask everyone to pray for the officers who were shot and for every law enforcement officer working on the streets of Houston. We live in dangerous times, and it will take all of us working together to make our city safe.”
What happened
According to authorities, at about 2:40 p.m., officers responded to a residence due to a possible domestic disturbance incident. When the suspect saw officers, he fled the scene in a vehicle and led officers on a chase, according to authorities.
Finner said the suspect crashed at the intersection of McGowen and Hutchinson. When the officers in pursuit got out of their vehicles, the suspect opened fire with a fully automatic gun, according to Finner. Three officers were struck.
Turner said one officer was shot in the foot, one was shot in the leg and the other was shot in the arm. All of their injuries are non-life-threatening.
“They were a little bit shaken but relieved their loved ones will make a full recovery,” Finner said regarding the injured officers' families.
Officers returned fire but it's unclear if the suspect was struck, Finner said.
According to Finner, the suspect then carjacked a white Mercedes and got away. Finner said the suspect led officers to a home on Lockwood, where he opened fire again. Officers returned fire. It's unclear if the suspect was hit during this shootout, but no officers were struck.
Finner said the suspect was barricaded inside the home and authorities worked to get him out. Police believe he was alone inside the home.
At about 7:45 p.m., police said Caballero surrendered and was taken into custody.
Alarming crime rate in Houston
At a news conference after the shootout, Turner said the crime in the city is happening at an alarming rate.
"It's going to take all of us to make this a safer city," Turner said.
Turner said he and Finner will unveil a plan to make the streets safer next week.
"It's been a tough week for the city as a whole," Turner said at a news conference. "These are inherently dangerous times. There are a lot of guns on the streets."
Finner echoed the mayor, saying criminals deserve to be in jail.
“These violent individuals ... I’m damn tired of it," Finner said.
Finner also acknowledged the brave men and women who put on a uniform to protect the public day in and day out.
"You have some brave officers that put their lives on the line every day. I'm proud of them," Finner said.
Witness accounts
Witness Stephen Hinson said he was in his townhome when he heard “some type of a crash.”
“All of a sudden, I heard popping noises and I didn’t think it was gunshots, but then all of a sudden it started getting closer and it sounded like about 50 rounds went off,” Hinson said. “I looked out my window and I saw the officers running and I realized there was an officer down right in front of my townhome.”
Hinson said he and several neighbors went to the rooftop of their complex to see what was happening.
“Everything happened so quickly, and this area was swarmed by police officers pretty quickly,” Hinson said.
He said they didn't see the other officers who were shot.
A witness at the Lyons and Lockwood location said she saw dozens of police units in the area. Danielle Young said roads were blocked off due to what she said was a standoff.
“We are literally looking at them while they loading themselves up with guns and weapons," Young said.
Young said she’s worried about the safety of her neighbors – especially the children – while the suspect is on the loose.
“You got the schools around here and where we stay at, there’s a lot of kids," Young said.