HOUSTON – The Harris County sheriff’s office is investigating a shooting after a deputy shot a 61-year-old man outside a northwest Harris County Walgreens Saturday night.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded around 8:44 p.m. to the Walgreens, located at 12097 Veterans Memorial Drive, after employees called 911 to report a man was harassing customers in the parking lot.
When the responding deputy arrived, things escalated quickly when the man refused to cooperate with the deputy’s attempts to question him. According to investigators, the man walked away from the deputy despite repeated commands to stop, leading the deputy on a 50-yard pursuit through the parking lot.
After two unsuccessful attempts to disable the man with a taser, the deputy pulled out his gun and shot the man, hitting him in the arm, hip and wrist, authorities said.
“After the man went down, the deputy applied a tourniquet to his leg area and called EMS. The mail man transported to the hospital,” a HCSO spokesperson said.
Store workers later told investigators the man, believed to be homeless, had received about 15 previous trespass warnings for similar behavior.
“We received a call earlier in the evening regarding the same male,” HCSO spokesperson said. “The deputy that answered that call arrived to find the male was gone, so he advised the employees to call back if he returned – which they did.”
The deputy involved was not injured but has been placed on administrative leave following standard department protocol.
Investigators are now working to determine whether the man posed an immediate threat to the deputy or if mental health factors may have played a role in the incident.