UPDATE AS OF 9:50AM: Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo is speaking with the media about the officer that was shot overnight, and said the officer that was shot is out of surgery.
"The round was in his lower extremities, and caused a lot of damage. He will be in the hospital for a while and will hopefully make a full recovery," Acevedo said.
So how did the officer wind up being shot?
"At some point a struggle ensued. The suspect shot our officer. Several shots were discharged. The exact sequence of events is part of our investigation," Acevedo explained
Acevedo also said there was a priest that was .beat up in this incident, and that robbers forced him to his knees and put a gun to his head; a gun that did not go off despite the fact that the trigger was pulled twice.
UPDATE AS OF 7:30AM: Houston Police Officers Union President Joe Gamaldi just updated the inured officer's condition in a Tweet. HPD will hold a further update at 9am.
ORIGINAL: A Houston police officer was shot and in the hospital after surgery while a carjacking suspect is dead and two other suspects were arrested after a Thursday night crime spree on the South Side.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo says one suspect is still on the run.
Houston Police Officers Union President Joe Gamaldi Tweeted overnight that the officer, who has not been identified, has undergone surgery. His exact condition is not known.
The officer is a five-year veteran of HPD and Acevedo said he knows the officer's father, who is a 42-year-old veteran of the Department.
The incident started when a man was carjacked at a Valero gas station on Scott Street around 9:55 p.m. The carjacking victim was at the gas station because his SUV was low on gas when four men approached him at gunpoint and stole his vehicle.
Acevedo said officers arrived at this scene about six minutes after the carjacking call.Acevedo said after the suspects ditched the SUV, they assaulted a priest and stole his phone at about 10:10 p.m. He said the suspects pulled a gun on the priest and tried to fire twice, but no bullets discharged.
Ten minutes later, Acevedo said officers spotted the suspects in a nearby shopping center. One suspect was taken into custody about five minutes later.
At about the same time, another suspect was spotted near the intersection of Triston and Scott. When officers arrived at this scene, Acevedo said gunfire was exchanged.
The officer was hit three times, twice in the upper body and once in the lower body. Again, he underwent surgery overnight and his condition is not yet known.
Another update is planned for 10 o'clock this morning.