A Texas deputy constable has been hospitalized after he was ambushed and shot in the back four times late Wednesday. The shooting happened about 11:20 p.m. on Alabama near Briley, said Kese Smith of the Houston Police Department. A full recovery is expected for the officer, though Constable May Walker has informed reporters it will take a long time. The office initially reported that Clopton had been struck six times.
Advertisement
The person, who was not injured, was detained for questioning, Smith said. Authorities said the deputy was performing a routine traffic stop with a deputy-in-training when the suspect, not connected to the traffic stop, approached him from behind and ambushed him.
Walker said that Clopton comes from a family with strong law enforcement ties, describing how several of his relatives work for different law enforcement agencies. The other deputy constable returned fire, Smith said, but it was unclear if the suspect was hit. PHOTOS: Deputy shot in “ambush” attackA motive for the shooting is unknown.
“It’s just a reminder that no matter where you are in law enforcement, there are people who wish to do us harm regardless of the good effort we do for the community”, he said.
The shooting occurred after a traffic stop made by another deputy constable. Love also says he anticipates Clopton will be in the hospital for a week or so.
Goforth appeared to have been targeted “because he wore a uniform”, Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said.
“We think he is going to be okay”, Constable May Walker told reporters.
One shot was sacked toward the ground and another bullet was found inside the patrol vehicle, Walker said. The person had not been arrested or charged, he said, but authorities also were not now looking for anyone else.
Most of the shots which hit the 11-year veteran, who is married with five children, somehow got past the bulletproof vest that Constable May Walker advised he had been wearing, and lodged themselves in his abdomen, but one of those bullets landed mere inches from Constable Alden Clopton’s heart.
Advertisement
Constable’s office officials and Houston police were searching for the gunman, Greenwood added. According to Greenwood, doctors believe his injuries are not life-threatening. Fort Worth police said Thursday that investigators looked into the woman’s allegation that Jason Casares (cuh-SAR’-ess) sexually assaulted her during a conference there in December, but that police determined the “elements for a criminal case” didn’t exist and no charges would be filed.
