Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa has donated $10,000 to the family of Texas Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, who was killed in the line of duty after being shot in the back of the head near Houston on Sept. 27.
In a heartwarming gesture to show support after the death of 42-year-old Dhaliwal, the Puerto Rican professional baseball player met with his family on the afternoon of Sept. 30, and made the donation.
“Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, a 10-year veteran, was a hero—was a respected member of the community, and he was a trailblazer,” said Gonzalez. “Deputy Dhaliwal is known to everybody as somebody with a giving heart.”
Correa wrote on Twitter on Monday: “Thank you Sandeep for everything you did to help others here in Houston and Puerto Rico! Rest In Peace, you’ll always be remembered!
The Houston Texans also paid their respects to the slain deputy by holding a moment of silence at the stadium before Sunday’s game.
Dhaliwal was killed around 12.30 p.m. on Friday while he was conducting a traffic stop in northwest Harris County.
While Dhaliwal was speaking with the driver at the stop, “there was no combat, no arguing,” Maj. Mike Lee of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said at a news conference. Citing a review of the dashboard camera footage that captured the incident, Lee said the exchange between the two appeared “like a routine traffic stop that we conduct every day.”
But as Dhaliwal proceeded back to his patrol vehicle, the driver ran up behind the deputy and shot him in the back of the head, Lee said. The shooter then fled.
Later that day, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said it had arrested and charged Robert Solis, 47, with capital murder.
The suspect “caught him by surprise” and shot the deputy in the back of the head “in a cold-blooded manner,” Gonzalez said at a press conference, describing the murder as “ambush-style.”
Gonzalez said Dhaliwal was the first Sikh law enforcement officer in the sheriff’s office, calling him a “pioneer.”
Solis had an active parole violation warrant for an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon dating back to January 2017, authorities said.
Harris County court records show a series of charges, including driving with a suspended license, assault, and driving while intoxicated.
A woman who was believed to be a passenger in Solis’s car was also arrested. She has not been identified as of yet.
A judge denied Solis bond early Saturday.
“The nature of the allegations involved in this case and the manner in which the murder was carried out indicate to me that Mr. Solis is a severe and immediate danger to the community at large,” the judge said.
Dhaliwal is survived by three children, a wife and a brother. His funeral, which is open to the public, has been set for Oct. 2 at the Berry Center in Houston.
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