TX Cop Shot While Confronting 4 Gunmen Who Robbed Shot Priest While ‘Praying On Knees’ Near Houston #DemDebate Venue

Houston, TX. (THECOUNT) — A 29-year-old Houston police officer was shot multiple times while trying to end four gunmen’s crime spree late Thursday night, reports DefenseMaven.

The suspects also attacked a priest and robbed him and two other citizens at gunpoint in a series of separate attacks that occurred near where the Democratic Debate was taking place in Houston Thursday night, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters during a Friday morning press conference.

The priest said he was on his knees, praying for his life, when one of the suspects pulled the trigger twice.

One gunman was killed, two others were arrested, and the fourth suspect remains at large.

The five-year veteran-of-the-force went through surgery, and was listed in stable condition in an intensive care unit on Friday morning, National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Vice President Joe Gamaldi tweeted.

The incident began at 9:56 p.m. at the Valero gas station on Griggs Road, when four men stole a 2003 Chevy Tahoe at gunpoint, according to KTRK.

The vehicle was low on fuel, and sputtered to a stop on Tierwester Street minutes later, at which point the suspects took off on foot, Chief Acevedo said.

They encountered their next victim – a priest – on Meriburr Lane at approximately 10:10 p.m.

“A priest. You heard that right,” the chief told reporters, according to KTRK.

DEVELOPING::

Geo quick facts: Houston is a large metropolis in Texas, extending to Galveston Bay. It’s closely linked with the Space Center Houston, the coastal visitor center at NASA’s astronaut training and flight control complex. The city’s relatively compact Downtown includes the Theater District, home to the renowned Houston Grand Opera, and the Historic District, with 19th-century architecture and upscale restaurants – wikipedia.