A Texas deputy constable driving to work was fatally shot at one Houston intersection early Tuesday afternoon, police said. A person of interest has been arrested, authorities said announced early Tuesday evening.
The deputy was in his personal vehicle, an SUV, and had stopped at an intersection in west Houston when a man got out of his car, approached the deputy and shot him around 12:30 p.m., Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said. The suspect fired several times.
According to preliminary information, the deputy, Maher Husseini, was not in uniform when he was shot, Diaz said. Husseini had been a deputy for the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office since 2021, patrolling the South Central District, Harris County Constable Mark Herman said in a post on social media.
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A person of interest was arrested in Galveston, police said on social media, but did not provide additional details. Galveston is about 50 miles southeast of Houston.
Earlier, police had said they were looking for a suspect described as a 35- to 40-year-old man with dark, thin hair, wearing a dark shirt and pants. The suspect was driving a charcoal gray Chevy Impala with a unique defaced bumper underneath the car, Diaz said.
Police were still trying to determine a motive for the shooting and whether the deputy had been targeted, Diaz said. They were investigating whether it might have been a case of road rage.
“It’s a terrible thing for the community, for someone to lose their life, someone who has dedicated their life to public service,” Diaz said. “It’s absolutely tragic.”
In a statement, Herman said the deputy was taken to a Houston hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“We are saddened by the killing of one of our Precinct 4 deputies on their way to work today,” Herman said.