Chase starts at Taco Bell, ends in gunfire

10:49 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 14, 2009

By Kevin Peters / 11 News

HOUSTON—An early morning police chase started at a Taco Bell and ended with a Harris County deputy shooting a man in Houston Wednesday.

Investigators said the deputy opened fire after the suspect pointed a gun at surrounding lawmen.

It all began around 1:15 a.m. when deputies responded to a call about a man threatening his wife in a Taco Bell parking lot at FM 1960 and Cypress Station. As soon as deputies arrived, the man drove off in a pickup truck. Deputies followed closely behind, but not before getting a cell phone from the man’s wife. With that phone, deputies tried to convince the man to stop, but police said he threatened to hurt chasing deputies, his family and himself.

The chase ended minutes later in a north Houston neighborhood near Imperial Valley and Eldon. Investigators said the suspect pulled up in front of his home, and then began driving erratically. He apparently pulled forward, then backward and then circled a cul-de-sac before pulling back into his own driveway.

That’s when investigators said the man pointed a pistol at his own head and then at deputies. Police say one deputy fired at least one shot inside the car. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators said it’s still unclear if the deputy fired the fatal shot, or if the man inside the truck turned his gun on himself. Investigators have yet to determine if the suspect’s gun was ever fired.