Houston police are investigating the fatal shooting of an armed suspect at 5700 Pershing Street about 12:35 a.m. today (Dec. 30).
The identity of the deceased male, 18, is pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
Two other male suspects, 18 and 21 years of age, were taken into custody by Pasadena Police Department officers.
Four officers – two HPD officers and two Pasadena PD officers – discharged duty weapons in the incident. None of the officers was hurt. The two HPD officers, K. Arguelles-Torrado and J. Lopez, are assigned to the Southeast Patrol Division and were sworn in as officers in September 2018 and March 2017, respectively.
HPD Special Investigations Unit Sergeant H. Chavez and Detectives J. Snook, N. Arellano and D. Morrison reported:
About midnight today, a Pasadena police officer conducted a traffic stop in the 3600 block of Shaver in the city of Pasadena. Once he called out on traffic, the Pasadena officer was informed by his dispatcher the vehicle he stopped was taken in an aggravated robbery. The officer called for back-up. When Pasadena officers gave verbal commands to the driver to exit the vehicle, the driver sped off and led officers on a vehicle pursuit into the city of Houston, where HPD officers joined in the pursuit.
The suspect vehicle was occupied by three males. When the suspect vehicle reached the 7100 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard, the two passengers bailed out of the car and officers were able to take them into custody without incident. The driver, however, continued to flee in the vehicle through the neighborhood and ultimately crashed into a Pasadena patrol vehicle at 5700 Pershing and MLK.
The suspect then exited his vehicle and officers began a foot pursuit. The suspect fired at least one gunshot at the officers as he was fleeing on foot. The officers caught up to the suspect and continued to give him verbal commands, which he ignored. When the suspect then started to turn toward the officers, four officers shot him multiple times. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
HPD and Pasadena detectives are conducting joint investigations to determine what charges will be filed against the two suspects in custody.
As is customary in officer-involved shooting incidents in the city limits, the case is being investigated by the HPD Special Investigations Unit and Internal Affairs Divisions, as well as the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
JFC/AMD 12-30-19
Inc #171652719