Moments after police officers responded to a domestic disturbance in Fifth Ward Thursday afternoon, the routine call spiraled into chaos: a chase, a crash, a shootout that ended with three police officers wounded, a carjacking and then a barricaded suspect in a home on Lockwood Avenue.
As police waited for hours before finally taking the man — later identified as Roland Caballero — into custody, Mayor Sylvester Turner said the wounded officers were in good spirits and expected to recover.
But the shooting was a reminder of the dangers of police work, Turner said.
“We are living in inherently dangerous times,” he said, “and it’s going to take all of us working together to have a very safe city.”
On HoustonChronicle.com: K-9 stabbing suspect confessed to killing his father with dumbbell, Houston police say
The fracas began about 2:42 p.m., officials said, when police responded to a disturbance at 1513 Tralle St., in Fifth Ward. Caballero spotted the officers and fled in a gray Dodge Charger. He eventually crashed on the 2100 block of McGowen Street and then unleashed a barrage of gunfire at the police pursuing him, striking three and sending a plume of smoke out of their vehicle.
Video of the encounter showed three officers rushing toward the shooter, with two taking cover behind their cruiser, while another hid along a fence line — and then firing at the suspect. Audio from the video captured the sounds of numerous gunshots, including what sounded like automatic fire.
From there, Caballero carjacked a person in a white Mercedes-Benz and then drove to a house on Lockwood and barricaded himself inside the home, authorities said.
Firefighters transported one of the officers to Memorial Hermann Hospital, while police officers drove the others there.
The three were all relatively new police officers stationed to Northeast Patrol, Chief Troy Finner said. One officer was shot in the elbow, another in the leg, and the third in the foot. The three were identified as Officers Nate Gadson, 35, Daniel Hayden and Anthony Alvarez. Gadson has spent four years with the department; Hayden, three years, and Alvarez, two.
All were on the mend Thursday afternoon, Finner and Turner said.
“We expressed our support of them, how appreciative we are of their service, and how grateful and thankful we are that their injuries were not worse,” Turner said.
On HoustonChronicle.com: Man accused of killing Houston deputy interrupts hearing, says law enforcement wants to ‘kill’ him
Doug Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said he talked to two of the wounded officers at the scene.
“Their car is shot to s—t,” Griffth said. “How they made it out of there without being more severely injured is amazing.”
The immediate area was blocked off by police cruisers and yellow tape.
Shivpal Vansadia, who lives in the nearby area and works as an analyst for NASA, was on a work Zoom call when he heard a succession of pops. His co-workers asked what it was, and he told them he thought it was gunfire. He ducked, then left the call and went to the roof of his townhome to see what was happening.
From there, he saw a police car and a suspect’s vehicle. He said he saw police with their guns out, running toward a Dodge Charger. Most of the situation had already unfolded.
As officers converged on the hospital to check on their wounded comrades, SWAT operators spent hours outside of a home on Lockwood near Interstate 10 where Caballero had barricaded himself.
The 31-year-old man shot at police several times but did not hit anyone, Finner said.
“Thank God he didn’t strike any officers,” he said.
The man — who had a gunshot wound to his neck — surrendered to authorities around 7:45 p.m., walking out of the home with his hands up, Finner said. He was sent to the hospital, Finner said.
On HoustonChronicle.com: Oscar Rosales, man accused of killing Harris County deputy, had a prior identity in 1995 arrest
Court records show a lengthy rap sheet dating back to 2008, with charges for deadly conduct, aggravated assault and unlawful possession of weapons.
Thursday’s shooting is the latest in a challenging week for Harris County law enforcement, who have seen two of their colleagues killed in the last several days and a police dog stabbed and nearly killed.
It began on Saturday, when Houston police had to rush one of their K-9s, Nate, to an animal hospital after he was stabbed by a man they were trying to arrest. The man accused of stabbing the K-9 on Wednesday was charged with murder in the death of a man police believe to be his father.
On Sunday, a Precinct 5 deputy constable was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop in west Houston. Cpl. Charles Galloway, 47, died at the scene. Oscar Rosales was charged with capital murder of a police officer and was captured in the border town of Ciudad Acuña after a manhunt that involved police agencies across the state.
Early Monday, an off-duty Harris County sheriff’s deputy, Sgt. Ramon Gutierrez, 48, died after being struck by a driver while escorting heavy machinery along Sam Houston Parkway in the northeast part of the county.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo stated she was “saddened and absolutely outraged over this latest attack on our police. Gun violence is out of control and weapons of war have NO place on our streets. I’m in touch with Mayor Turner and he has our full support for anything he or HPD needs.”
At a news conference at the Texas Medical Center, Turner also decried the toll gun violence has taken on the region and acknowledged the strain recent events have placed on the area’s law enforcement community.
“There are a lot of guns on the street,” he said. “Quite frankly, there are just too many on the street and in hands of people who will use these guns at a second notice. Now we have 3 police officers in hospital with gunshot wounds.”
st.john.smith@chron.com
leah.brennan@chron.com
