Four Houston police officers were shot and wounded, and a fifth was injured, in a drug bust gone awry in a southeast Houston neighborhood Monday afternoon. Two of the officers were struck in the neck, but are reported to be in critical but stable condition.
Two suspects who police said initiated a gun battle were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.
"I want to say right off the bat that no officer has died," said Acevedo in opening an evening news conference.
Acevedo said the officers were serving a search warrant on a house where neighbors had complained about possible drug dealing. He said the people inside were suspected of selling black tar heroin.
"Immediately upon reaching the door, the officers came under fire from one or two suspects inside the house," he said. "It was a pretty chaotic scene over there."
Five officers were injured overall, four struck by gunfire. Two officers were in "critical, but stable condition," said Acevedo. Two of the other officers shot are being held for observation. A fifth officer sustained a knee injury during the confrontation.
A Houston SWAT team used robots to enter the house and determine if it was safe for officers. Eventually the police went in and found two suspects who were pronounced dead at the scene.
The names of the officers were not released, although Acevedo described several of them by age and years of service. He offered no information about the suspects.
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