Houston shooting: Police officer ‘shot to death and two cops wounded in ambush at nightclub’
ONE cop was shot dead and two others were wounded after they were ambushed at a nightclub early on Saturday.
The shooting happened in Houston, Texas at about 2.15am when the officers arrived outside the venue following reports of a disturbance.
Deputy Kareem Atkins, 30, died from his injuries, announced Constable Mark Herman.
"Deputy Atkins recently returned back to work after paternity leave and leaves a wife and 6-month-old baby," Herman said in a statement.
Officers Darryl Garrett, 28, and Juqaim Barthen, 26, were also injured in the shooting.
Garrett "was shot in the back and underwent surgery and is in the ICU at Hermann hospital downtown," according to Herman.
"Deputies Atkins, Garrett and Barthen are true law enforcement heroes that were cowardly ambushed while serving and protecting their community," he added.
Houston police said a struggle with one person was interrupted when someone else opened fire with a rifle from behind the deputies.
Among the injured, one deputy was shot in the back, and another deputy was shot in the foot.
It was not yet clear if the deputies were able to return fire.
Constable Mark Herman previously told reporters: "I left my third deputy, who is deceased, here in the hospital."
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"It's probably one of the hardest things I've done in my career.
“I'm asking for all our community's thoughts and prayers for their families.
"What happened tonight was evil. And now, the good is going to sweep in, and I hope for swift justice."
One person has been taken into custody near the scene, but it was not clear if they were a witness or a suspect.
"My main concern is my injured deputies and their families.”
Police are searching for a Hispanic man in his early 20s wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, who's believed to have been the shooter.
He is a heavy-set man with a beard.
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