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Illegal immigrant in Houston allegedly shoots and kills one police officer and wounds another
October 21, 2020
The two officers were responding to a domestic violence dispute
An illegal immigrant in Houston is in custody after reportedly shooting and killing one police officer and wounding another after the two officers responded to a domestic violence call Tuesday.
What are the details?
According to KHOU-TV, the suspect, Elmer Manzano-Martinez, 51, has a lengthy and violent criminal record and was the subject of two domestic violence reports submitted to the Houston Police Department in the week preceding Tuesday's incident.
In one of them filed on Sunday, Manzano-Martinez's estranged wife reportedly told police her "ex-husband was walking around with a gun" and she was "in fear of her life" because "she didn't know what her ex-husband will do to her."
On Tuesday morning, Manzano-Martinez allegedly opened fire on the two officers, Sgt. Harold Preston and Officer Courtney Waller, while they talked with his ex-wife in the parking lot of their apartment complex.
Preston, 65, a 41-year veteran of the force, would later succumb to his injuries, but Waller is expected to survive. Manzano-Martinez sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen and his 14-year-old son was also shot during the firefight.
KTVT-TV reported that Manzano-Martinez was taken to the hospital following the incident and is listed in stable condition.
Police: 1 Houston Officer Dead, Another Injured Before Shooting Suspect's Arrestyoutu.be
Following his arrest Tuesday, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement lodged an immigration detainer request with the Houston Police Department and confirmed that Manzano-Martinez, a citizen of El Salvador, is "unlawfully present in the U.S."
ICE lodges detainer requests with state and local police departments when there is probable cause to believe that an arrested individual is a removable alien.
What else?
In a news conference following the Preston's death, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said, "We've lost just a wonderful human being. He is leading with men and women on streets, instead of choosing to sit in an office drinking coffee and reading the paper. That is the man he was — he is a man who lived with elderly parents to take care of them. As good as he was as a cop, he was a better human being, that is just the guy that he was and we are going to miss him."
Acevedo added in a tweet that those who knew Preston "knew him to be a wonderful, courageous, and humble servant, from an amazing family."
The Houston Police Department also posted on Twitter asking members of the community to continue praying for Waller as he recovers in the hospital.
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Phil Shiver
Phil Shiver is a former staff writer for The Blaze. He has a BA in History and an MA in Theology. He currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina. You can reach him on Twitter @kpshiver3.
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