A Texas police deputy was shot and killed Tuesday morning while driving to work in Houston after a man approached his car at an intersection and opened fire multiple times, local police said.
The suspect, whose identity has not yet been released, fled the scene after the shooting of Deputy Constable Maher Husseini and led authorities on a high-speed chase for approximately 60 miles (97 kilometers).
According to local news site click2.houston.com, the suspect was in the area of the Causeway Bridge in Galveston Bay when he drove his vehicle into the water.
The Port of Galveston Police Department said several boats were called to the scene to pull him out of the water, and he could be seen waving his arms while treading water for nearly a half-hour.
Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said the man then “swam about 50 to 60 yards and we had to use a boat and tactical officers to get him and a police K9 helped secure him while he resisted the boat.”
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle/AP
He added that he was eventually apprehended with the help of a marine unit.
Authorities said he was then taken to hospital for evaluation before being taken into custody.
He was described as being of Asian/Middle Eastern descent and aged between 35 and 40 years old.
Deputy Husseini, who has been a Harris County police officer since 2021, was not in uniform at the time of the shooting.
He was patrolling the South Central District and had recently been promoted. He was married and a father.
Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle/AP
The shooting left bullet holes in the passenger window of Husseini’s SUV. He was rushed to a Houston hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to Harris County Precinct 4 Officer Mark Herman.
Houston police said the motive for the attack remained unclear and investigators were still working hard to determine whether Husseini was specifically targeted.
They are also investigating the possibility that the incident was caused by road rage.
Diaz described the killing as devastating.
He said: “It’s a terrible thing for the community, for someone to lose their life, someone who has dedicated their life to public service. It’s absolutely tragic.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott pledged in a statement that authorities would do everything in their power to secure justice for Hussein.
He said: “The dangerous criminal who ambushed and murdered Deputy Constable Husseini will face the full force of the law.”
Authorities said the community was mourning the loss of someone they described as a dedicated public servant whose life was cut short in a senseless act of violence.
Newsweek emailed the Houston Police Department on Wednesday for further comment.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
