Manhunt Underway For Suspect Who Fatally Shot Deputy
August 29, 2015
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Harris County Sheriff Deputy Darren Goforth
Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth was brutally gunned down while at a northwest Harris County gas station Friday evening, Sheriff Ron Hickman said.
Officials say a person of interest is being questioned, but they have not confirmed whether an arrest has been made. HCSO officials plan to address the incident at a 1 p.m. press conference Saturday.
Goforth was walking out of a Chevron gas station at the corner of Telge and West Road when a suspect approached him and shot him multiple times, Hickman said. Goforth had stopped at the gas station to fill up his patrol car, the sheriff’s office said.
Goforth, 47, was a 10-year veteran with the sheriff’s office, working the west district patrol division. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
“It appears to be an unprovoked, execution-style killing of a police officer,” Hickman said. “It strikes us all at the heart of public service. … We will hunt this person down and do our best to bring him to justice.”
Hickman said in his 45 years of law enforcement, he can’t recall another incident “this cold blooded and cowardly.”
According to Hickman, Goforth had finished investigating a traffic accident about 30 minutes before he was killed. Hickman said it doesn’t appear there were any connection between the traffic investigation and the shooting.
Sheriff’s officials believe the suspect is a dark-skinned male who’s about 5-feet 10-inches or 6-feet tall, 20-25 years old, wearing a white t-shirt and red shorts. Officials believe he fled the scene in a red- or maroon-colored Ford pickup truck, possibly an extended Ford Ranger. He was last seen traveling westbound on West Road.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Harris County Constable’s Office, DPS, Texas Rangers, the FBI and U.S. Marshals are assisting in the investigation and the search for the suspect and any motive.
Sheriff’s officials are looking into surveillance footage from the gas station and are asking for anyone with information into Goforth’s murder to contact the sheriff’s office.
Goforth was working alone Friday evening, which is common procedure, spokesman Thomas Gilliland said.
“This is an act of cowardice and brutality, the likes of which I’ve never seen,” said Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson. “We will use all our resources to prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law.”
The 100 Club, a Houston-based nonprofit organization supporting dependents of law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty, announced Saturday it will provide a $20,000 check to Goforth's wife, 12-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son to help with immediate financial needs.
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Harris County Sheriff's officials believe this man is one who killed Deputy Darren Goforth Friday night at a northwest Harris County gas station.
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Harris County Sheriff's officials believe the red or maroon truck, believed to be an extended cab Ford Ranger, is the suspect used to escape the scene
Deputy Ambushed, Fatally Shot At Gas Station Near Houston
August 29, 2015
The search for the suspect in the death of a uniformed sheriff's deputy who was shot several times while filling up his patrol car at a suburban Houston gas station continued Saturday, authorities said.
Deputy Darren Goforth, 47, was pumping gas about 8:30 p.m. Friday when a man approached him from behind and fired multiple shots, Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ryan Sullivan told The Associated Press.
Police were speaking with a person who has information about the shooting and obtained a search warrant for the two-story brick home where the person lives, Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland said. No arrests have been made, Gilliland said, and the man is not a suspect or person of interest.
Nine patrol cars, including one with the words "crime scene unit" on the side of the vehicle, were parked near the home, which is about a quarter-mile from the gas station in Copperfield, a middle-class to upper middle-class area of Harris County that is unincorporated.
The search for the suspect, whom police have described as between 20 and 25 years old and about 5-foot-10 to 6feet tall, is ongoing. He was wearing a white T-shirt and red shorts and driving a red or maroon pickup-style truck with an extended cab.
Goforth was a 10-year veteran of the force, had a wife and two children, according to Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman.
"In my 45 years in law enforcement, I can't recall another incident so cold-blooded and cowardly," Hickman said, who added no motive had been determined.
An impromptu memorial had begun Saturday morning at the Chevron station pump that Goforth was using on Friday night, a pile of balloons, flowers, candles and notes, including one that said, "Gone but never forgotten R.I.P. Deputy Goforth." The gas station was open, but that pump was closed.
Brian McCullar knew Goforth because the deputy had patrolled his neighborhood, which is about two miles from the gas station, and spoke often.
"He was passionate about what he did," the 49-year-old said, adding, "We're still in shock. ... It's a huge loss for his family. It's a huge loss for this area.
"You're talking about a guy that made a difference."
Goforth had traveled to the Chevron station after responding to a routine car accident, Gilliland said.
"He was pumping gas 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 ground. The suspect came over and shot the deputy again multiple times as he lay on the ground."
Detectives were checking security camera video for possible clues.
"I can tell you with diligence and justice the suspect will be caught," Gilliland told the newspaper. "And he will be brought to justice ... This is a very callous individual."
Harris County Sheriff's deputies and homicide investigators joined officers from other agencies, including the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Houston Police Department, in the search.
"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."
Texas Deputy Executed Days After Black Radical Group Calls for Killing Cops
August 29, 2015
A Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy was shot execution style at a gas station while reportedly in full uniform. The deputy was filling up his patrol car. Witnesses told Breitbart Texas the shooter shot the deputy in the back of the head and then three times in the back. This tragedy
comes within days of a group of Black radicals calling for “lynching whites and killing cops,” as Breitbart Texas recently reported. Witnesses also told Breitbart Texas that the shooter was a black male.
The shooting occurred late Friday evening in Northwest Harris County just outside of Houston. One witness who spoke to this writer said he knew the deputy personally and had just spoken with him about five minutes before the shooting.
He said he saw the man shoot his friend and speed off in a red pickup truck. He said he followed the truck for about two miles until he lost it at a major highway intersection. The truck turned onto Highway 6 from West Road and disappeared.
Deputies in the area confirmed they were indeed searching for a red Ford Ranger pickup truck.
Two teenage girls told Breitbart Texas they saw the shooter fire one shot into the back of the head of the deputy who was simply getting gas for his vehicle. After the deputy fell, they heard three or four other shots. According to the first witness, those shots were fired into the deputy’s back.
The execution of the deputy came just days after black radicals went on an internet radio show hosted from Texas and called for the lynching of white people and the killing of cops to “turn the tide” against blacks being killed by cops. Breitbart Texas reported on Friday morning the details of the radio show and the comments that were made.
One black man spoke up saying they needed to kill “cops that are killing us. The other black male on the show said, “That will be the best method right there.”
The shooter is described as male, dark complexion, five-foot-ten to six-foot. He was said to be wearing a white t-shirt and red shorts.
Witnesses said a LifeFlight helicopter came and picked up the deputy to take him to the hospital, but they believe he was dead at the scene.
The first witness showed this reporter a photo of the deputy with his children. He was highly emotional as he was speaking. “He was the best guy you can imagine as a friend,” the witness said. “He was always coming to me and asking if he could do anything for me.”
Breitbart Texas will follow this developing story.