Suspect in Houston-area Blue Alert in custody; charged with attempted murder of officers
A suspect accused of shooting a Texas sheriff’s deputy on Wednesday night and wounding two more officers during a standoff at a Houston area home Thursday night has been taken into custody, the Harris County sheriff said.
Terran Green was arrested around 11:45 p.m. and charged with three counts of attempted capital murder, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a news conference and social media post Thursday night.
Officers finally forced entry into the house and located Green in an upstairs corner, where he was taken into custody, the sheriff said.
“There was an extended standoff that occurred here this evening, and we’re relieved that it was resolved peacefully,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said that it’s believed Green moved around during the 24 hours law enforcement were looking for him and finally ended up in the home in the 11500 block of Silhouette Ridge near Summercreek High School. Green’s relationship to the home owners wasn’t clear, but the house did not belong to him.
There were other people in the house initially, Gonzalez said, but they exited once the officers made entry. Two law enforcement officers - a sheriff’s deputy and a deputy U.S. marshal - were shot at that location and taken to a hospital in good condition with injuries that are not believed to be life threatening, the sheriff said. Their injuries were believed to be graze wounds, he said.
Earlier Thursday, another man authorities were looking for in connection with the shooting of the sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop on Wednesday evening was located and released, officials said. Police questioned James Green, who is the brother of Terran Green, authorities said around 10 a.m. Thursday. James Green was only a passenger in the car when his brother allegedly shot the deputy, authorities said. He was released and no charges against him are pending, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post around 11:15 a.m.
Sheriff Gonzalez said at a news conference Wednesday night that the 29-year-old sheriff’s deputy who was shot during the traffic stop was in critical condition.
According to a Blue Alert, which is sent out when someone injures or kills a police officer, authorities began searching for 34-year-old Terran Green, who left the scene of Wednesday’s shooting in a blue 2016 Ford Escape. He was wearing a gray shirt and black shorts.
In a midnight update Wednesday night, authorities identified James Green as the second person believed to have been in the vehicle with Terran Green. Around 4:45 a.m. Thursday, authorities said police had located the vehicle, but the two men were still at large at that time.
Anybody with information was urged to call 911 immediately.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a news conference Wednesday night that the deputy was shot while conducting a traffic stop on Homestead Road around 7:40 p.m. Gonzalez identified the deputy as Joseph Anderson in a social media post Thursday.
Within a minute or two, dispatchers received word that the deputy was down and witnesses started calling in to describe the shooting. Paramedics were there within minutes and a few minutes after their arrival, Anderson was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Gonzalez said he did not know what prompted the traffic stop and was not yet aware of what happened leading up to the shooting. Initial information indicates that the deputy was shot at least twice.
Around 10 p.m., Gonzalez said Anderson was in surgery and that the sheriff’s office was praying for him and asking for prayers.
In an update shortly before noon Thursday, Gonzalez said Anderson’s surgery was successful and he is in critical but stable condition and improving. Gonzalez requested continued prayers for Anderson’s recovery.
Anderson has been with the sheriff’s office for about a year and three months.
Family members descended on the hospital after hearing word of the deputy’s injuries, Gonzalez said.
“We’re going to be conducting a very massive manhunt and I’ve instructed everyone that it’s all hands on deck,” Gonzalez said Wednesday. “We’re not going to stop until we find the person or persons responsible for injuring our deputy.”
Gonzalez said Terran Green and anybody else who was with him should be considered dangerous. He emphasized that anybody who has any information should call 911 or contact Harris County Crime Stoppers, where tips can be submitted anonymously, at 713-222-8477.
“They shot a deputy and it’s unacceptable,” Gonzalez said Wednesday. “We’re not going to tolerate it now. Not now, not at any point. We’re going to do everything we can to bring them to justice. ... Our focus, law enforcement’s focus, is to go out there and make sure we locate the persons responsible for this and bring them to justice ASAP.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2023 at 11:36 PM.
