Police: Suspect Shot Texas Deputy 15 Times While He Pumped Gas

Law enforcement officers attend a news conference regarding the shooting death of Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth, pictured in back, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015, in Houston. Prosecutors on Saturday charged ... Law enforcement officers attend a news conference regarding the shooting death of Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth, pictured in back, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015, in Houston. Prosecutors on Saturday charged Shannon J. Miles with capital murder in the Friday killing of Goforth at a suburban Houston gas station. (Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

HOUSTON (AP) — Authorities say a suburban Houston police officer who was ambushed was shot 15 times at a gas station.

Shannon J. Miles appeared briefly in state District Court on Monday. He is being held without bond. He was appointed two attorneys.

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said Deputy Darren Goforth was shot 15 times and the shell casings match the handgun that was found at Miles’ home.

Goforth, a 10-year veteran, was pumping gas about 8:20 p.m. Friday when he was ambushed and fatally shot. He died at the gas station in Cypress.

Anderson would not comment to reporters after the hearing regarding a motive.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Shell casings ‘matching’ is caliber only. They would have said something different if they knew for a fact that that was the gun. Definitive proof is hammer marks, rifling, and/or prints on the casings found at the site.

    A total of 15 shots puts him in automatic territory, and not that many guns can hold the whole number of bullets. Being shot 15 times, depending on the distance, can mean this guy reloaded many times. The average successful handgun interaction is within 10 feet.

    I know cops, and I know Texas. I also know black folk and I know that, short of the guy being a maniac, he was inspired. Either this cop, or another cop, or maybe just the plethora of unarmed blacks being shot in the press - and the knowledge of all the other shootings of blacks, long acknowledged in the black community and ignored in the white - maybe brought this guy to the edge.

    A black man in this country losing it and shooting a cop? Not too difficult to imagine. In Texas, a little bit easier. A grudge against a guy who waited until he was 37 before he joined up…what was this guy doing being accepted into the force at 37? Worth noting the recent case of a cop shooting an unarmed teenager where the guy was 49 and went into law enforcement after 10 years as a hairdresser. He was on the job only a few months before he shot a black kid.

    There is something else going on here. I think these cops will railroad the guy even if he’s innocent. The history of Texas law enforcement leads that thinking. As for these guys in the picture, they’re on a self-pity high that will no doubt take them to the bar, and then home, and then maybe the wife to the hospital, and the next black guy looking at them funny too.

  2. No, they said it matched the gun itself, they already knew the caliber of the casings, so why would they need to do ballistic tests to confirm a caliber?

    The gun in question holds 14 bullets, plus one in the chamber. 14 plus 1 + 15. So there was no reloading. He emptied the gun on the guy in depraved fashion. You are just spreading bogus information that has zero basis in fact.

    If you don’t know, why are you posting it. He was a 10 year vet. That’s a fact. The perp was busted on numerous occasions, and is clearly a low life POS.

    Right, because no one is watching this case at all…and of course the video is really not him because all black guys look alike? And of course all the witnesses who described the guy and his vehicle are really “plants”, right?

    The rest of your post is just pathetic.

  3. No gun was mentioned in the article, so the number of bullets is moot at that time. A 1911 .45 won’t hold that many bullets.

    When they match caliber alone, it is not enough. They need to match striking pin location, and rifling. All these years of CSI and you still don’t know how bullets are matched to guns, pretty dim.

    I am not spreading bogus information, I’m trying to give a read between the lines. Metallurgically no real link has been made. Enough made for the Sheriff to blame Black Lives Matter though, yes? Who’s spreading misleading information again?

    So he served 10 years, beginning at some age, then took a few years out, and went into police training at 36. Still old, and bumping the limit for the maximum age for many metro areas.

    If you haven’t been reading much, I guess not, then you won’t know that a bunch of cops obfuscating over the killing of unarmed black men is not uncommon. If you have any sense whatsoever, you’ll know that a lot more is going than is being reported.

    You’re stretching all over. I’ve made an argument, and I am right to doubt the ‘shell casings matching’ information because it is limited to…millions of guns countrywide.

    I am not against the cops. I know a lot of cops. But I am cognizant of the history of police use of force against black folk, and have an inkling of just how much worse it was in the old days.

    The shooter here is a madman. He may be a madman with a grudge. He may have a reason for that grudge. You’re just a knee-jerk cop lover red in the teeth to stick it to the black man after all the negative press.

    If you reply - and I hope you go and boil your head in turpentine instead - please include the link to the details of the gun. Until I see a confirmation of the type of gun, you’re just whistling dixie.

    How many blacks to be gunned down today? How many since the Civil Rights Act? How many known to the black community but unknown to the white community because we could give a damn less?

    All things you’ll never think of. It’s called empathy, and you and many budding sociopaths don’t have any. Or choose to not have any.

    Waste of space.

  4. If you read my history of posts, I have many times taken sides against police (Tamir Rice, etc.). This is well documented, so don’t make stuff up about me.

    As to “knee jerk”, everything you posted has been speculation and proven to be false at this point. Your first line says it all, you just assumed that if he took 15 shots, he must have reloaded. You were 100% wrong. And if you think this guy did not do the shooting, that’s pretty amusing.

    My comment was about this specific incident, not some broad generalization. There are hundreds of incidents every day where people commit crimes. Blacks percentages are by far the highest. So, using your “logic”, then it would be OK to target blacks? Ummm, no.

    Each incident is a specific incident. Darren Wilson was proven to be 100% justified in his actions, yet the entire BLM movement uses that shooting as their big moment? Funny. Tamir Rice? Total opposite, cops at fault for sure. Two completely different incidents, and they should be judged as such.

  5. At the time, and with the information available, and knowing an average handgun’s capacity, thought that 15 rounds might make for a clip change. A fair assumption to make. But to you, proof positive of my leaping to conclusions.

    Darren Wilson had a witness who was a cop-jockey and threw her thoughts into the ring days later, and could not even prove she was in the vicinity. Darren Wilson was a guy with training, a gun, a taser, pepper spray, and an SUV. Him having to shoot that kid instead of wait for backup - a minute away - is a good guide to the travesty the whole thing was. That they left him uncovered 4 hours in the street says a lot more.

    ‘Blacks percentages are by far the highest’. Another indication of your innate racism. Poor people commit crimes. And by far blacks are poorer. Add your hillbilly meth addicts and you’ll see a more balanced approach. But hey, you can tell it’s a black guy easier than you can tell it’s a poor guy. You’re an idiot.

    No, I won’t read your bibliography. You’ve proven yourself to be a blasé reactionary in so few words as to make that a waste of time.

    Good luck. Don’t be black. Don’t reach for your waistband. Don’t shoplift.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

6 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for mrcomments Avatar for isakindamagic

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: