Texas deputy fatally shot while driving to work in Houston, officials say; person of interest in custody
A Texas deputy constable who was driving to work was fatally shot at a Houston intersection early Tuesday afternoon, police said. A person of interest has been detained, authorities announced early Tuesday evening.
The deputy was in his personal vehicle, an SUV, and had stopped at an intersection in west Houston when a man got out of his car, walked up to the deputy and shot him around 12:30 p.m., Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said. The suspect fired multiple times.
According to preliminary information, the deputy, Maher Husseini, was not in uniform when he was shot, Diaz said. Husseini had been a deputy with Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office since 2021 and patrolled the South-Central District, Harris County Constable Mark Herman said in a social media post.
A person of interest was detained in Galveston, police said on social media, but provided no further details. Galveston is located about 50 miles southeast of Houston.
Earlier, police had said they were looking for a suspect described as a 35- to 40-year-old man with dark, thinning hair, wearing a dark shirt and pants. The suspect was driving a charcoal grey Chevy Impala with a unique bumper disfigurement underneath the car, Diaz said.
Police were still trying to determine a motive for the shooting and whether the deputy had been targeted, Diaz said. They were investigating whether it might have been an instance of road rage.
"It's an awful thing for the community, for someone to lose their life, someone that's dedicated their life to public service," Diaz said. "It is absolutely tragic."
In a statement, Herman said the deputy was taken to a Houston hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"We are saddened about the murder of one of our Precinct 4 deputies on his way to work today," Herman said.