HOUSTON—A 19-year-old Houston man has been charged with aggravated assault of a public servant and burglary of a habitation in connection with the shooting of a Houston police officer.
Police said Patrick Carnell Freeman shot the officer after he was caught stealing from an apartment.
Prosecutors have also charged a 14-year-old suspect with burglary in connection with the incident.
Police said Officer Frank L. Pierce was doing laundry at his apartment complex in the 9700 block of Pine Lake Drive when he noticed the suspects walking out of a nearby apartment with a flat-screen TV and a number of other items.
Police said Pierce went over and confronted the juvenile suspect, directing him to lie on the ground.
That’s when Freeman allegedly walked out of the apartment, pulled out a stolen pistol and shot Officer Pierce.
Police said Pierce returned fire, but he didn’t hit either suspect.
The suspects fled the scene in a stolen vehicle and were later caught in a furniture store by Jersey Village police, investigators said.
Pierce suffered two gunshot wounds to the abdomen and was rushed to Memorial Hermann hospital.
Police said he was in good condition Tuesday, and he’s expected to recover.
Pierce, 39, was sworn in as an officer in June 2006.
