Harris deputy involved in shooting in SE Houston

A routine traffic stop in southeast Houston ended in gunfire Tuesday night when a Harris County sheriff's deputy shot at a man wielding a pistol, authorities said.

Deputies were watching traffic about 8 p.m. when they spotted a suspicious driver pull off the northbound Gulf Freeway at Dixie Farm Road, officials said.

"They noticed that the driver has got his seat reclined pretty far back and he's not wearing a seat belt," said Victor Senties, a Houston police spokesman.

The deputies signaled for the driver to pull into a nearby service station. The man stopped, got out of his car, and suddenly bolted — running through a car wash and toward a motel with both deputies in foot pursuit, authorities said.

One of the deputies shouted "gun" when he saw a pistol in the hand of the fleeing man. Fearing for his safety — and that of his partner — the deputy fired at least once, authorities said.

The man fell to the ground and was taken to an area hospital. His condition wasn't known late Tuesday but the wounds are not considered life-threatening, officials said.

The deputies were not injured. Their names have not been released.

Houston police are investigating the shooting because it happened in their jurisdiction, officials said.

mike.glenn@chron.com