A group of Texas teens are behind bars and one is in the hospital after opening fire on a police officer.
A 34-year-old veteran officer with the Houston Police Department was driving in his personal car Thursday at 11:30 p.m. when he noticed a vehicle tailing his, according to local news station KHOU.
The officer, who was off duty and whom the department has not named, turned to let the car behind him pass, but it stopped instead. A male teen got out with a gun in his hand. Three other male teens were in the car, and police believe they were attempting to rob and carjack the cop.
The officer stepped out of his car, identified himself and told the suspect to stop. Instead, the teen pointed his weapon at the cop, according to KAGS, a local news station.
“At that point in time, a rear passenger got out and began running toward the sergeant; as he went under [the] street light he had arm extended and was shooting pistol directly at the sergeant,” Houston police spokesman Kese Smith told KHOU.
The officer fired back, shooting a 15-year-old male twice. The group of teens managed to get back into the car and flee, but were found ten minutes later by Houston police.
The officer "is the type that would stand up and turn the tables on everything," a neighbor of his told the station. "We treasure him," she said.
Police said they arrested three of the teens, aged 16, 17 and 18. The 15-year-old suspect was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
The attempted ambush comes just over a month after a Harris County sheriff's deputy in the Houston area was fatally shot in the head while filling up his car at a gas station. He was a 10-year veteran on the force.
Clarification: Language has been updated to specify that the Houston officer who was shot was a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff's Office.