Harris County sheriff: suspect in police shooting faces 3 attempted capital murder charges

Terran Green, the wanted suspect accused of shooting three police officers over a 24-hour period, has been charged with three counts of attempted capital murder, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

A five-hour police standoff with Green ended peacefully late Thursday when the fugitive finally surrendered.

Green, who has been wanted in connection with the Wednesday evening shooting of a Harris County sheriff’s deputy, had been barricaded in a northeast Harris County home that authorities partially demolished with heavy equipment. The shirtless suspect emerged from the second floor of the house at 11:40 p.m., clinging to the robotic arm of a police vehicle.

“Terran Green has been taken into custody without incident,” Gonzalez declared on social media shortly after the arrest. The sheriff praised the “incredible work” by authorities who had spent an intense 24 hours searching for Green, and then used patience, technology and novel tactics to successfully capture him in one of the most unusual police operations in recent history.

The standoff started when Green opened fire on law enforcement officials who tracked him to the residence Thursday evening. One U.S. Marshals Service deputy was shot in the leg, a law enforcement task force member took two rounds to his body armor vest and another U.S. Marshals deputy suffered a shrapnel injury, authorities said.

None of the officers’ injuries are considered life-threatening. The U.S. Marshals deputies are from Corpus Christi and McAllen.

Gonzalez said law enforcement officials at the scene believed Green was alone in the residence, located about five miles west of the Interstate 69 and Beltway 8 interchange. 

“We’ve established that he’s inside the home,” Gonzalez said earlier in the evening. “We’re giving him every opportunity to come out peacefully. We hope he takes us up on that.”

Investigators believe Green knows an individual who lives at the home, but additional information about any connection was not immediately clear, Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said the standoff was in the Sunset Ridge West neighborhood. Bumper-to-bumper traffic greeted drivers exiting the highway who wanted to head north on John Ralston Road.

Live video from ABC13 showed at least two heavily armored vehicles and an apparent drone outside of a brick-façade home as of about 9 p.m. Thursday. One of the vehicles destroyed sections of the front of the home, while two large windows on the second floor were blown out.

Gonzalez declined to comment on the tactics behind destroying the home and whether Green has communicated with hostage negotiators.

Law enforcement officials have been combing the region since the Wednesday evening shooting of Harris County sheriff’s deputy Joseph Anderson, who was conducting a traffic stop in northeast Houston.

Gonzalez said Anderson, 29, remained in “critical but stable condition” Thursday evening, showing “very positive improvements so far.” The sheriff said Anderson was shot at least twice in the torso.

Authorities initially named two wanted suspects, 34-year-old Terran Green and 37-year-old James Green, in the hours after the shooting.

However, James Green told the Houston Landing on Thursday that he was not involved in the shooting, and Harris County sheriff’s officials confirmed he was interviewed and released. James Green said he and Terran Green are brothers.

At the time of the shooting, Terran Green had a warrant out for his arrest in connection with his failure to appear for a court hearing on an aggravated assault charge in May.

This story will be updated. Staff writers Monroe Trombly and John Tedesco contributed to this report.