DEER PARK, Texas — We have good news about a Houston police officer who was shot Tuesday morning while responding to a home invasion in the Spring Branch area.
Officer S. Durfee has been released from the hospital and is "expected to make a full recovery," the Houston Police Department said hours later.
Also new this afternoon, a third suspect has been arrested in connection with the home invasion and shooting on Alderney Drive near Antoine Drive just north of the Katy Freeway. Two other suspects were arrested earlier.
Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said the whole thing started when two men knocked on the front door of a home around 9:40 a.m. The homeowner later told us that his daughter saw them holding a DoorDash bag and thought they were at the wrong house so she answered the door to let them know.
"As soon as she opened the door, he pulled a gun out of a DoorDash bag and he forced entry," homeowner Ben Bates told us.
He said the robbers tied his daughter up in front of her two small children.
"They zip-tied my daughter, and she had her 1-year-old and 3-year-old, they proceeded to ransack the house," Bates said. "They didn't do anything with the kids but they did have her walking them through the rooms trying to find stuff to take."
An alert neighbor saw what happened and called 911. HPD officers were there within four minutes.
"That neighbor saved the day. Being neighbors and caring for each other won the day today," Diaz said.
The chief said when Durfee and another officer arrived, they went inside and found the woman and one young child in the living room. Then the two suspects who were still inside the home attacked the officers firing multiple shots and striking Durfee in the leg, according to Diaz.
"The suspect came out of a bedroom and shot immediately at the officer. The officer returned fire, did not strike suspect and that was the suspect who ran out the back," Diaz said. "The second officer proceeded to clear the home and he caught the other suspect, secured him and then he administered life-saving first aid to our police officer."
That officer took one suspect into custody while still inside the home.
A neighbor said the second suspect knocked over a trash can trying to get into his backyard and tried to hide his weapon on his car's tire.
"To look out your kitchen window and see three police officers with guns drawn, telling him not to move, it scared the hell out of me," Bruce Thomas told us.
The third man was arrested about six hours later on Hollister Road near W. Tidwell Drive in northwest Houston, HPD said.
The woman and her children weren't hurt.
Surveillance video obtained by KHOU 11 showed a white car in front of the victim's home and you hear a woman screaming as a man jumps out of the vehicle and runs inside the home.
Durfee is a nine-year veteran of HPD.
“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our brave first responders who put their lives on the line every day to keep our community safe. Your dedication and sacrifice do not go unnoticed,” a statement from the mayor’s office said.
Diaz added that the shooting would be reviewed and the bodycam video would be released within 30 days per department policy.
This is a map of where this happened.
