A police officer working as a security guard at a Houston shopping center was shot to death by a man who grabbed his gun, authorities said. The attacker was shot by police and died at a hospital.
Officer Neil Adams was working a second job Thursday afternoon at PlazAmericas in Houston when he was shot by a man in his 30s, Police Chief Troy Finner said.
Authorities are still investigating the circumstances of the altercation. Finner said the assailant fled to the restaurant area of the mall, where he was shot by two police officers. The man, whose name has not been released, died Thursday at a Houston hospital.
Adams was a San Jacinto County deputy, north of Houston.
Officer Roy Rogers of the San Jacinto Precinct 1 said Adams joined the department in 2012 and was the county environmental officer.
“We lost one of our heroes. He was a good man,” Rogers commented. “He worked hard to support his family, to take care of the constituents in our county.”