A deputy constable was shot and killed while working an extra job inside a Houston shopping mall Wednesday afternoon. Houston police officers responded to the shooting and fatally wounded the gunman who killed San Jacinto Pct. 1 deputy Constable Neil Adams.
HPD Chief Troy Finner said there was some type of altercation at the PlazAmericas Mall between Deputy Adams and the suspect.
During the struggle, Finner says the suspect was able to get Deputy Adams' gun and shoot him, KHOU reports. Houston police responded and confronted the suspect in the food court. Finner says the suspect had a sharp object and came at the officers, who then opened fire, killing the suspect.
The suspect, 35, was taken to a hospital where he died, ABC13 reports. His name has not been released
“We lost one of our heroes," San Jacinto County Precinct 1 Constable Roy Rogers said during a Wednesday evening press conference. "He was a good man. He worked hard. He took care of his family. He took care of the constituents of his county. Please pray for Deputy Constable Adam’s family.”
Adams completed the police academy in 2012 and was serving as a San Jacinto County environmental constable.
"My husband always said you can either be a sheep or a sheepdog and I want everybody to pray for all the sheepdogs out there that are protecting everybody," said the deputy's wife, Dee Dee Adams. "They get a bad wrap and they just want to protect. That's what they want to do in their heart. Everybody's turned their back on them and everybody should pray for all of them because they're here for you."