HOUSTON — An 18-year-old was pronounced dead after a shooting involving law enforcement at a northwest Harris County hotel, according to county authorities.
It happened Wednesday morning at the Express Inn by the North Freeway.
According to Pasadena police chief John Bruegger, the 18-year-old was wanted for bond forfeiture in connection to a homicide charge. The police department later identified him as Alberto Rodriguez Jr.
Members of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force went to the hotel shortly before 10 a.m. to serve his arrest warrant. The team included officers from the Pasadena Police Department and the U.S. Marshalls.
Bruegger said the task force was in the parking lot preparing to serve the warrant when Rodriguez approached them. Allegedly, he wasn't following the team's verbal demands.
He then lifted his shirt showing two handguns in his waistband and started reaching for one of them. That's when two members of the task force shot at him multiple times.
According to the chief, the two members were a Pasadena officer and a U.S. Marshall. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said no law enforcement officials were injured.
Brueggar said the Harris County Sheriff's Office will investigate the shooting. The county's District Attorney's Office will also be involved as well as the Pasadena Department's Internal Affairs and Investigations units.
When asked about the Rodriguez, the Pasadena chief said his death was tragic for everyone involved.
"He still has a mother, a father," he said. "It's a traumatic event, no matter the circumstances for the officers involved. To take a human life, that's a big deal."