Republished by Bexar County Constable Precinct 3
Published by Houston Chronicle
A Harris County deputy constable remained in stable condition in a local hospital Tuesday evening after he and another officer were wounded in a shootout with an allegedly disturbed man wielding a shotgun at residence earlier in the day, according to a sheriff’s official.
Harris County Deputy Thomas Gilliland said that after receiving a call from a possibly suicidal resident, Pct. 4 deputy constables went to a residence in Atascocita near Saratoga Woods Lane and Kennesaw Mountain at around 2:50 a.m.
Constable deputies who arrived attempted to contact the resident, Wesley Adam Smith, 31, who eventually came out of the house with a shotgun, Gilliland said.
Gunfire erupted, and Deputy Christopher Gaines was one of four deputies who fired at Smith outside the home where they been dispatched to conduct a welfare check around 3 a.m. Another officer, Deputy Monisoye Faniyi, had to get multiple stitches after he was grazed by a shotgun pellet, officials said.
Gaines underwent more than eight hours of surgery Tuesday, and officials said he was hit in the legs by shots fired by Smith. Harris County prosecutors filed four counts of aggravated assault of a police officer  against Smith late in the day.
Smith remained in a hospital Tuesday evening, being treated for the 22 entry and exit wounds he sustained during the exchange of gunfire, according to Harris County Constable Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman.
The penalty range on each charge is five to 99 years or life, and prosecutors are asking that Smith be held on $500,000 bond, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Herman said deputy Gaines has been with the department for two years and is assigned to its East District Patrol division in Humble.
Two other deputies were injured in the incident, though not by gunfire, Gilliland said. They sustained cuts and scrapes while running for cover, and one was taken to the hospital.
“I am very humbled and honored to work with these heroes who bravely stood together and not only protected a fallen deputy, but also, put down this suspect when he engaged them in a gun battle,” Herman said.
 
However, the constable’s office said that Smith emerged from his house and then “fired possibly two times,” starting the gunfight.
A couple of bullets from the shooting hit a next-door neighbor’s home, although it was not clear who fired the shots. Gilliland said the shooting investigation has been taken over by the sheriff’s office homicide division.

Two constable deputies wounded in shootout in Atascocita, charges filed against attacker

The accused shooter, who was also wounded in the gunfight, will face four counts of…

Reporters John D. Harden and Rob Downen contributed to this report.
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