An officer involved shooting near the Houston Community College (HCC) West campus reportedly ended with a robbery suspect dead on Thursday.
Videos by Rare
Initial reports suggested the shooting occurred at the campus, however, it appears to be unrelated to the school at this time.
HPD CHief @artacevedo provides briefing on officer involved shooting at 5400 South Loop West at Pin Oak https://t.co/2kX3h7ZX0F
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) February 1, 2018
Police say they believe the suspect first committed an armed robbery at an Exxon gas station located at 10721 S. Post Oak, holding the female clerk at gunpoint as he stole cash from the register along with a beer.
RELATED: Kidnapping victim shot by FBI agent in northeast Houston raid
The suspect reportedly fled the scene in a vehicle, but the clerk did manage to snap photos of the suspect’s black Toyota Avalon with her cell phone.
When the suspect saw her, the clerk said he turned around to confront her, then running inside to safety and locking the door behind her; after firing several shots at the locked door, the suspect once again fled the scene.
Just before 9:00 a.m., police said they received reports of multiple crashes along the West Loop.
Bellaire police said they connected the description of the vehicle involved with their robbery suspect and called HPD to assist with the chase.
The suspect reportedly exited his vehicle holding a handgun, and, ignoring police commands, he attempted to carjack people driving along the West Loop, none of whom stopped their vehicles for him.
He then ran toward a parking lot located at 5475 West Loop South near Fournace, which is around the HCC campus and a clinic.
When police closed in, reports show the suspect drew his weapon, prompting an officer to fire, striking the suspect.
He then dropped his weapon and attempted to flee on foot. However, police said he ultimately collapsed as a result of his wound.
[protected-iframe id=”8c0b26a49e6e33afa3136fbf78ab3f50-46934866-108543960″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FKHOU11%2Fvideos%2F10157310762704062%2F&show_text=0&width=560″ width=”560″ height=”315″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no”]
Bellaire firefighters said they tended the suspect’s wounds, but he reportedly died at the scene.
There are no other injuries to report at this time, and both the robbery and the shooting remain under investigation.
More views of officer-involved shooting near the HCC West Loop campus; suspect shot – officer is okay. Frontage road partially blocked. MORE-> https://t.co/Z7PEcEGtuA pic.twitter.com/bM7QwO4y1L
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) February 1, 2018
RELATED: 13-year-old gang raped at HISD middle school, incident recorded on cell phone
Authorities said the officer involved in the shooting is a veteran of more than 20 years experience on the force.
Classes at HCC reportedly remained in session, unaffected during the shooting.
UPDATE: The HCC Southwest College West Loop Campus is secure after a Houston Police Department incident this morning near the campus. The incident is now over and all operations at the West Loop Campus are continuing as normal.
— Houston Community College Official (@WeAreHCCS) February 1, 2018