Law enforcement officials in Texas are still trying to determine the identity and possible motive of the individual who shot and killed a sheriff's deputy near Houston late Friday night in what has been described as an "ambush" at a local gas station.
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.
Following a frantic search overnight by police, Reuters cited comments made by Houston Police Officer John Moore to report that the still unnamed suspect "was taken into custody early Saturday" at his mother's house not far from the gas station where the shooting took place.
"She called to tell them he was there," Moore told Reuters. "There is a suspect in custody believed to be the shooter."
According to Moore, the suspect was being held in the Harris County jail.
Meanwhile, other outlets as of late Saturday morning (EDT) were still reporting the individual in custody may only be a "person of interest" and that the investigation and search was ongoing.
The Washington Post reports:
Police released grainy surveillance photos and guessed the suspect to be between 20 and 25 years old. He fled the scene of the shooting in red or maroon Ford Ranger truck.
Goforth had just finished working an incident and stopped at a Chevron to pump gas into his car. “A male suspect came up behind the deputy and shot the deputy multiple times. The deputy then fell to the ground,” Deputy Thomas Gilliland told reporters. “The suspect then continued over to him and shot the deputy again multiple times as he laid on the ground.”
A witness called 911 to report the shooting, Gilliland said.
Goforth, a 10-year veteran of the force, is survived by a wife and two children.
And AP provided this video from the scene of the shooting overnight:
