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A Harris County Precinct 4 deputy constable was fatally shot and two other deputy constables sustained injuries while working at a nightclub in north Houston last week.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner tweeted, sharing a link to an article by KHOU11 detailing audio from the shooting.
“The murder of a Precinct 4 deputy and the shooting of two others is heartbreaking and disappointing,” Turner wrote in his tweet. “My prayers are with their families and fellow law officers. There are too many guns in the possession of the wrong people using them for the wrong reasons."
According to ABC13, the deputies had responded to a suspected robbery disturbance outside. Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman spoke to ABC13 outside the hospital after the shooting, stating that of the injured deputies one was shot in the back and the other in the foot.
"I just left Hermann Hospital where I sat in a room with one of my dead deputies who was ambushed by a coward," Herman told ABC13. "It's probably one of the hardest things I've done in my career.
The deceased officer has been identified as Deputy Kareem Atkins and the two injured officers have been identified as deputies Darrell Garrett and Juqaim Barthen. According to KHOU11, Atkins is survived by a spouse and two children.
According to ABC13, the incident occurred around 2:15 a.m. in the 4400 block of the North Freeway near Crosstimbers at the 45 Norte Bar and Lounge.
As two of the deputies attempted to detain a suspect, a car pulled out and one of its occupants opened fire, fatally striking Deputy Atkins and injuring the other.
When a third deputy responded to the shots and came running, he was also shot, ABC reports.