A Houston police sergeant has died after being shot in the line of duty while responding to a domestic incident, police announced.
Houston officer Sgt. Christopher Brewster, 32, was shot and killed while responding to the 911 call of a woman who said her boyfriend was assaulting her and was armed with two firearms on Saturday around 5pm.
Brewster responded to the scene at the 7400 block of Avenue I, but the victim and suspect were not there.
Brewster patrolled the area and spotted the victim and suspect walking on Avenue L, leading the cop to exit his patrol vehicle and make contact with the couple.
He was then shot several times by the suspect 25-year-old Arturo Solis, Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said.
Houston officer Sgt. Christopher Brewster, 32, was shot and killed while responding to a 911 call of a woman who said her boyfriend was assaulting her and was armed with two firearms on Saturday. Suspect 25-year-old Arturo Solis (right) was arrested and charged with capital murder
Brewster was shot, rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead at 6.30pm. The shooting scene pictured above
Despite being injured, Brewster drew his pistol to protect himself from the suspect and paged for other units to report to the scene
Brewster was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of the shooting. Acevedo said the vest wouldn’t have protected Brewster from the fatal gun wound.
Brewster drew his pistol to protect himself from the suspect and paged for other units to report to the scene.
‘Although he was mortally wounded, he had the presence of mind to draw his pistol out of his holster to protect himself in case the suspect came up and he also had the presence of mind and courage to put out and broadcast suspect information that was critical for the responding units,’ Acevedo said.
An ‘officer down’ call was made and the Houston Fire Department responded to help Brewster and perform CPR on him.
He was taken by ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital and was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the shooting at 6.30pm local time.
The suspect Solis was caught while jumping fences and was arrested and charged with capital murder.
Acevedo said the suspect Solis was armed and a second firearm was recovered from the scene of the crime
Houston Police shared a picture of Officer Brewster and shared his history with the force
At the time of his arrest Solis was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. Police found a second firearm and other evidence from the crime scene afterwards.
Solis has a long criminal history. He was charged with assault against a family member in August. In 2017 he was charged with burglary of a vehicle, according to Click2Houston.
The woman who was with Solis and called police as uninured.
Police Chief Avecedo said the shooting was captured on Brewster’s body camera.
‘What people will see is a coward that took the life of a hero that responded to help his officers which is what we talk about on a daily basis,’ he said.
Brewster was a nine-year police veteran and leaves behind a wife, his parents and sister.
He graduated from the police academy on November 1, 2010 and promoted to sergeant in February 2019.
‘Every single day our officers show up go to work not knowing what they will face,’ Mayor Sylvester Turner said following the devastating shooting.
Governor Greg Abbott paid tribute to the slain officer on Saturday night on Twitter saying: ‘Our hearts are heavy tonight as a Houston Police Officer was killed in the line of duty. Send prayers to lift up the family of this slain officer. Tonight & Every Night we Back The Blue in Houston & across Texas’
U.S. Rep Dan Crewnshaw also paid tribute saying: ‘Heartbreaking to hear about Sgt. Chris Brewster. Chris risked his life every day protecting our community. He loved his job and was a true professional. Never forget him’
‘As I said he was an incredible crime fighter and a great sense of humor. And I’m sure everyone can attest that he never left the room without making people laugh,’ Houston Police Officers’ Union President Joe Gamaldi said on Brewster.
Governor Greg Abbott paid tribute to the slain officer on Saturday night on Twitter.
‘Our hearts are heavy tonight as a Houston Police Officer was killed in the line of duty. Send prayers to lift up the family of this slain officer. Tonight & Every Night we Back The Blue in Houston & across Texas,’ he said.
U.S. Rep Dan Crewnshaw also paid tribute, praising Brewster for ‘risking his life’ to protect his community.
‘Heartbreaking to hear about Sgt. Chris Brewster. Chris risked his life every day protecting our community. He loved his job and was a true professional. Never forget him,’ he tweeted Saturday night.
Brewster is the 44th officer to be fatally shot this year, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page which tracks police line-of-duty deaths.