Authorities searched Saturday for a suspect in the execution-style killing of a Texas county sheriff’s deputy who was on duty when he shot several times at a suburban Houston gas station.
Investigators with the the Harris County Sheriff’s Office were speaking to a man they said was a person of interest in connection with the murder of Deputy Darren Goforth who was attacked from behind as he was putting gas in his patrol car about 8:30 p.m. Friday
Police also obtained a search warrant for a two-story brick home where the man lives, authorities said.
The man was turned over to deputies by his mother, according to Fox affiliate KRIV in Houston.
Goforth, 47, was pumping gas into his patrol car at a suburban Houston gas station when a man approached him from behind and fired multiple shots, Harris County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ryan Sullivan told The Associated Press.
No motive was determined for the shooting. Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said Goforth, who was a 10-year veteran of the force, had a wife and two children.
“In my 45 years in law enforcement, I can’t recall another incident so cold-blooded and cowardly,” Hickman said.
Police had described the suspect as a male with a dark complexion, about 5-foot-10 to 6-feet tall, wearing a white T-shirt and red shorts driving a red or maroon pickup truck with an extended bed. Police posted pictures of the suspect from a security camera on Twitter.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland said Goforth had traveled to the Chevron station where the shooting happened, after responding to a routine car accident.
“He was pumping into his vehicle, and the male suspect came up behind him and shot the deputy multiple times,” Gilliland told the Houston Chronicle. “The deputy fell to the ground, the suspect came over and shot the deputy again multiple times as he lay on the ground.”
KRIV reported Goforth was shot once in the head and three times in the back.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Houston Police Department were also involved in the search for the suspect.
This is a very tough moment right now for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office,” Gilliland said. “Keep us in your prayers and in your thoughts.”
“Bob Goerlitz, president of the Harris County Deputies Organization, said the incident was “shocking.”
“We’ve been warned of things like this, because of public sentiment nationally and events over the last few years … It’s just horrific. That’s the only way to describe it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: FOXNews.com
Texas county sheriff’s deputy killed; person of interest questioned
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