A shootout in front of a family courthouse on Monday between several Texas deputies and a man with a handgun wounded one of the deputies as well as the suspect, authorities said.
At 12:20 p.m., a man with a weapon was reported walking from the Harris County Civil Courthouse in downtown Houston to the nearby Family Law Center, Carl Shaw, assistant chief deputy with the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office, said during a news conference.
Deputies began chasing the man before ending up at the nearby Family Law Center, where a shootout took place, Shaw said.
A female deputy with the constable’s office along with the suspect were shot and wounded.
The suspect, who authorities were still trying to identify, might have had more than one weapon, Shaw said.
The deputy, who was shot in the back, and suspect were hospitalized and both were listed as stable Monday afternoon. No other injuries were reported.
At least four deputies were involved in the encounter with the suspect, and investigators are trying to determine how many of them fired their weapons, Shaw said. At least one building near the shooting had a bullet go through one of its windows.
The injured deputy has been in law enforcement for 30 years and previously worked for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
The shooting took place in an area in downtown Houston where the criminal and civil courthouses are located as well as the Harris County jury plaza, where potential jurors report for jury duty. Thousands of people visit the various buildings each day to attend court hearings or other legal proceedings.
“This is a very busy complex … What the suspect had in mind, I don’t know,” said Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz, whose agency will lead the investigation into the shooting.
