A Texas mother making a quick stop at a gas station had no idea her baby would be shot in the head just moments later.
The woman's 1-year-old son was recovering Friday after a police officer confronting an armed suspect fired multiple shots, killing the accused carjacker and accidentally striking the innocent child, authorities said.
Police said the officer may not have realized the infant was in the back seat during Wednesday night's incident in Southwest Houston. The 15-year veteran of the city's police department, who was identified only as E. Garza, has been placed on administrative leave as the agency launches an investigation into the shooting.
The baby remains in stable condition.
© Houston PDHPD Executive Assistant Chief Finner
HPD Executive Assistant Chief Finner (Houston PD/)
"The most important thing right here is, for our entire city, to pray for this 1-year-old and that mother," said Troy Finner, executive assistant chief for the city's police department.
"Can you imagine? She's pumping gas, probably coming from work or whatever... and has to go through this. And now she's in the hospital and we're all praying for that baby," Finner told reporters at a news conference.
The tragic incident came after cops chased and ambushed the unidentified fugitive at a Chevron gas station. The man, who was around 30 years old, was a suspect in at least two aggravated robberies in the area, according to police.
Officers had tried to stop the black Mercedes Benz he was driving, but the man "began to actively evade" them, police said. After a short pursuit, the driver lost control of the car, crashed and abandoned the vehicle at the gas station where the woman was pumping gas.
Surveillance video shows the suspect getting out of the car and running toward the mother's white sedan.
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Police said the man then jumped into the woman's vehicle and tried to drive away, but cops surrounded the car and ordered him to drop his weapon and show his hands. As the man refused to obey their orders, Officer Garza discharged his weapon fearing for the safety of the bystanders at the scene, according to police.
Finner told reporters that Garza likely didn't realize there was a baby in the back seat and that the officer was "deeply concerned" about the child. The baby was taken to the hospital with what believed to be a graze wound, Finner said.
The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. His name is being withheld until his family is notified.
The mother was not injured.