A deputy constable with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office was shot six times in an ambush-style attack in Houston early this morning.
Deputy Constable Alden Clopton, an 11-year veteran, was approached from behind when the gunman opened fire.
The shooting occurred between midnight and 12:15 a.m. Thursday, according to Pamela Greenwood, a spokeswoman for the Harris County precinct seven constable’s office. The deputy is expected to survive, she said.
Greenwood said the deputy had parked his patrol vehicle at a convenience store after conducting a traffic stop. He was leaning into the vehicle, talking to a reserve deputy trainee in the passenger’s seat, when an unknown suspect approached from behind and shot him. The reserve deputy returned fire, but it is unknown if the suspect was hit, according to Fox News.
As of this writing, Clopton is in surgery in “uncertain” condition to remove bullets lodged in his abdomen and another near his heart, according to police.
The shooting occurred during a traffic stop with a deputy-in-training when the suspect, who was not part of the traffic stop, approached him from behind and began shooting.
A person matching the suspect’s description showed up at a nearby fire station but has not been arrested or charged at this point.
Clopton’s wife is also an officer for Harris County.
