A Houston Fire Department arson investigator is dead after a shootout took place in northwest Houston overnight.
According to officers, arson investigators had been looking into a string of car fires in the Timbergrove and Heights areas. While the investigators were on surveillance, shots were fired.
The investigator has been identified as Lemuel Bruce, who has been with the department for 17 years, and has been part of the arson department for five years. HFD Chief Sam Pena says this is a first for HFD.
"This is a terrible incident. In the history of the Houston Fire Department we have never had an investigator shot in the line of duty," Pena stated.
Bruce was 44 years old, and leaves behind a wife and two children.
Officials said the suspect was dead when they arrived at the scene.