SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Sheriff's deputy Darren Goforth was fatally shot while pumping gas. ( Photo: AP)
Lethal Shooting of Sheriff's Deputy in Texas Described as 'Ambush'
Darren Goforth, 47, was pumping gas at a station outside Houston on Friday night when, according to witnesses, a man approached him from behind and fired multiple shots
Aug 29, 2015
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:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
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:
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:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.