Conroe Courier - News
Bullets fly as drivers seek cover
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| A shootout between Montgomery County Sheriff's officers and a felony warrant fugitive resulted in an exchange of gunfire at the intersection of FM 1488 and Honea Egypt Road near Magnolia Monday morning. The driver of the black Mustang was killed and three passengers were wounded. The driver of the pickup was not injured. |
By Jamie Nash
SOUTH COUNTY – Lisa Barriclow had a morning she’ll never forget.
She was southbound on Honea Egypt in her Dodge Ram pickup Monday when she saw a black car approaching with police vehicles in pursuit.
“The next thing I knew, the car went up under my truck and they were shooting,” Barriclow said. “I leaned over in my seat and I just started praying.”
Barriclow was one of several witnesses to the shootout at the intersection of FM 1488 and Honea Eygpt Road that left one man dead and three passengers wounded. A medical helicopter flew one critically wounded female passenger to Houston.
A ground ambulance transported the other two passengers – one male and one female – to a local hospital. Their injuries were not life threatening, law enforcement officials said.
Gunfire erupted around 10:30 a.m. when members of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit converged on the black Ford Mustang driven by a wanted felon, MSCO spokesman Lt. Rand Henderson said.
“The suspect was a known drug abuser, violent, believed to be carrying a weapon and had evaded arrest on several occasions,” Henderson said.
Officers followed the suspect from a location outside of Montgomery to the intersection, where a “takedown” was initiated, Henderson said.
“At that time, the suspect failed to comply with the officers’ commands and opened fire on the investigators using a handgun as he attempted to evade the roadblock,” he said. “The officers then opened fire.”
The suspect was struck, resulting in his death at the scene, Henderson said. Names of the suspect and the three passengers were withheld by the Sheriff’s Office.
Henderson said it was too early in the investigation to determine how many rounds were fired.
“No officers were injured,” he said.
Nor was Barriclow.
A short time after her vehicle was struck by the Mustang, a deputy approached and asked Barriclow if she was OK, she said. With shots still firing, she ran from the truck and hid behind a large pole. Then she noticed another woman who was the driver of a van that had stopped just behind the crash.
“She was on the ground, kneeling and crying,” Barriclow said.
Barriclow said she wanted to run over and comfort the woman but was afraid for her own safety. The other woman was not injured, Barriclow said.
Damon Merka, of Magnolia, who stopped to avoid the MCSO vehicles, also witnessed the shootout.
“At first, I thought someone was confused by the new highway lanes being constructed,” he said. “But then I saw officers with guns getting out of all these vehicles and firing at the Mustang.
“I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew enough to stay out of their way.”
Henderson said the incident was under investigation by the Texas Rangers and MCSO detectives, with cooperation from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
“This is standard in an officer-involved shooting,” he said.
Because of the suspect’s alleged violent history, a group of officers followed him in both marked and unmarked vehicles, Henderson said. The law enforcement team consisted of uniformed deputies and plain-clothes detectives, who wore vests with distinguishable law enforcement markings, he said.
She was southbound on Honea Egypt in her Dodge Ram pickup Monday when she saw a black car approaching with police vehicles in pursuit.
“The next thing I knew, the car went up under my truck and they were shooting,” Barriclow said. “I leaned over in my seat and I just started praying.”
Barriclow was one of several witnesses to the shootout at the intersection of FM 1488 and Honea Eygpt Road that left one man dead and three passengers wounded. A medical helicopter flew one critically wounded female passenger to Houston.
A ground ambulance transported the other two passengers – one male and one female – to a local hospital. Their injuries were not life threatening, law enforcement officials said.
Gunfire erupted around 10:30 a.m. when members of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit converged on the black Ford Mustang driven by a wanted felon, MSCO spokesman Lt. Rand Henderson said.
“The suspect was a known drug abuser, violent, believed to be carrying a weapon and had evaded arrest on several occasions,” Henderson said.
Officers followed the suspect from a location outside of Montgomery to the intersection, where a “takedown” was initiated, Henderson said.
“At that time, the suspect failed to comply with the officers’ commands and opened fire on the investigators using a handgun as he attempted to evade the roadblock,” he said. “The officers then opened fire.”
The suspect was struck, resulting in his death at the scene, Henderson said. Names of the suspect and the three passengers were withheld by the Sheriff’s Office.
Henderson said it was too early in the investigation to determine how many rounds were fired.
“No officers were injured,” he said.
Nor was Barriclow.
A short time after her vehicle was struck by the Mustang, a deputy approached and asked Barriclow if she was OK, she said. With shots still firing, she ran from the truck and hid behind a large pole. Then she noticed another woman who was the driver of a van that had stopped just behind the crash.
“She was on the ground, kneeling and crying,” Barriclow said.
Barriclow said she wanted to run over and comfort the woman but was afraid for her own safety. The other woman was not injured, Barriclow said.
Damon Merka, of Magnolia, who stopped to avoid the MCSO vehicles, also witnessed the shootout.
“At first, I thought someone was confused by the new highway lanes being constructed,” he said. “But then I saw officers with guns getting out of all these vehicles and firing at the Mustang.
“I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew enough to stay out of their way.”
Henderson said the incident was under investigation by the Texas Rangers and MCSO detectives, with cooperation from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
“This is standard in an officer-involved shooting,” he said.
Because of the suspect’s alleged violent history, a group of officers followed him in both marked and unmarked vehicles, Henderson said. The law enforcement team consisted of uniformed deputies and plain-clothes detectives, who wore vests with distinguishable law enforcement markings, he said.
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