HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston police officer shot and killed a man who had fatally stabbed a woman in a store parking lot Saturday and was threatening the officer with a knife, police say.
It was the fifth fatal shooting by a Houston police officer within the last month.
It happened after a woman in her 80s was stabbed while returning to her car around 10 a.m. after shopping at a Walgreens, said Houston police Chief Art Acevedo. An officer found the stabbing suspect armed with a knife inside the woman’s car and ordered him to get out, Acevedo said.
The officer opened fire after the suspect lunged at him, Acevedo said.
The suspect’s name has not been released. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The woman died at a hospital.
“This is tragic, but the most tragedy here is a woman who has died from a guy who attacked her for no reason other than to steal from her and attempt to carjack her,” Acevedo said.
Some community activists have called for greater transparency from the Houston Police Department after the recent police shootings.
The activists have called for the creation of an independent police review board with subpoena powers. Currently all police shootings are reviewed by the department and prosecutors.
Acevedo on Saturday defended his agency, saying it selects, trains and retrains “the very best people.”
He said the city has seen a nearly 50% increase in homicides so far this year.
“For those that want to focus just on officer involved shootings, I say you need to start focusing on what’s going on in our community,” Acevedo said. “That’s 125 murders with this little old lady. So, where’s the outrage for that?”
