HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas deputy constable who was driving to work was fatally shot at a Houston intersection on Tuesday, police said.
The deputy, identified by authorities as Maher Husseini, was in his personal vehicle and had stopped at an intersection in west Houston when a man got out of his car, walked up to the deputy’s SUV and shot him around 12:30 p.m., Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said. The suspect fired multiple times.
According to preliminary information, Husseini was not in uniform when he was shot, 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 an instance of road rage.
“It’s an awful thing for the community, for someone to lose their life, someone that’s dedicated their life to public service,” Diaz said. “It is absolutely tragic.”
Husseini had worked for the office of Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman since 2021.
In a statement, Herman said the deputy was taken to a Houston hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“We are saddened about the murder of one of our Precinct 4 deputies on his way to work today,” Herman said.
Police said they were looking for the suspect, described as a 35- to 40-year-old man with dark, thinning hair, wearing a dark shirt and pants. The suspect was driving a charcoal grey Chevy Impala with a unique bumper disfigurement underneath the car, Diaz said.
“The dangerous criminal who ambushed and murdered Deputy Constable Husseini will have the full weight of the law brought down upon him,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. “Texas is a law and order state, and I will always defend the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect Texans.”
