Authorities In Houston Search For Gunman Who Shot And Killed A Deputy After Assaulting Little Caesars Employee

Authorities in Houston are searching for a gunman after a deputy was ambushed and killed overnight.

The incident happened just after 10 p.m. on Wednesday as Harris County deputies answered to an aggravated assault at a Little Caesars pizza shop.

“What happened is senseless. The suspect came into the location to pick up a pizza that he had ordered. He was upset because the order was incorrect,” said Harris County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mike Lee.

The suspect is accused of verbally assaulting the worker, “then produced a firearm and pistol-whipped the employee and then fled the location,” Lee added.

“The employee at Little Caesars was able to identify the getaway car by make and model, color and license plate,” Lee said.

One deputy eventually found the suspect’s car and called to relay that information to other deputies.

While talking on the phone, “our deputy apparently was ambushed” and shot multiple times.

Deputy Fernando Esqueda was rushed to a medical facility where he succumbed to his wounds.

Esqueda, 28, was a 5-year veteran of the department and a “member of a very elite task force, the violent persons task force,” Lee added.

Ronnie Palmer has been identified as a person of interest.

“There is an active search for Palmer. Please call us now: do not aid or assist him or YOU can face serious consequences for doing so. We want a safe resolution,” deputies said.

Lee expressed that the killing comes as “everybody’s on edge” in the Houston vicinity, with over 1 million still without power in the state, following Hurricane Beryl, which hit on Monday.