3 Houston Officers Shot, Gunman on the Loose: Officials

Five agents with the Fugitive Apprehension Unit, part of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and two sheriff’s office investigators tried to serve a warrant for Daniel Trevino, 25, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. (Harris County Sheriff’s Office.)

Three law enforcement officers were shot and injured in Houston while they were attempting to serve a warrant to a man who is still on the run, officials said on Dec. 11.

Five agents with the Fugitive Apprehension Unit, part of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and two sheriff’s office investigators tried to serve a warrant for Daniel Trevino, 25, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

While at the door of Trevino’s home, he fired at two officers who then opened fire, according to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The Chronicle reported Trevino is barricaded in a nearby home with another person. It’s not clear if he was shot or if he escaped.

“This afternoon, two of our officers from the Office of Attorney General’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit were wounded while serving an arrest warrant alongside a deputy from the Harris County Sheriff’s Department,” said the office in a statement. “ The three wounded officers have been transported to a local hospital and are currently receiving treatment.”

“All three injured officers are awake and alert. Expected to survive their injuries. Thank you all for your prayers,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted. “In the initial stages of the incident on Hartwick, one of our motorcycle deputies was assisting w/ traffic control for departing ambulance. He was involved in major accident. He sustained a few injuries, but thankfully is conscious & stable,” he later wrote.

According to the Chronicle, one of the attorney general’s officers was shot in the torso, leg, and face. The other attorney general’s officer was shot in the foot and a sheriff’s office sergeant was shot in the hand, meaning he’ll lose a finger.

“Prayers up for these law enforcement officers shot in the line of duty,” Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted. “We thank and support those who risk their lives to keep us safe.”

Trevino allegedly violated a protective order back on Dec. 2, prompting a warrant being served for his arrest. He had allegedly threatened to kill his girlfriend and her children before he locked them in the girlfriend’s apartment and hitting her.

Other details about the case are not clear.

Officials said that Trevino is considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call 911, the office said, adding “do not approach him.”

Murder Rate Drops

In 2017, according to officials, the murder rate in Houston dropped by about 11 percent. It dropped from 302 homicides in 2016 to 269 in 2017, the Houston Chronicle reported.

“The way you reduce murders is to solve attempted murders,” Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said in January 2018. “If you think about people who shoot people, frequently it’s not the first person they’ve ever shot, and in many cases it won’t be the last person they will shoot.”

In 2011 Houston saw its fewest number of homicides in recent memory, with 198. There’s been a steady uptick since then—until 2017. However, violent crime has been on the rise.

The number of violent crimes in Houston went up by 8.9 percent from 2016 to 2017. “I think any increase in violent crime is a tragedy, but you want to put things like this in context,” Ames Grawert, counsel for the Brennan Center’s Justice Program, told the Chronicle.