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Texas deputy shot dead 'execution-style' at gas station

By Amy R. Connolly
Harris County, Texas Sheriff's Deputy Darren H. Goforth was shot "execution-style" while pumping gas into his patrol car at a gas station Friday night. Photo courtesy Harris County Sheriff's Office
1 of 3 | Harris County, Texas Sheriff's Deputy Darren H. Goforth was shot "execution-style" while pumping gas into his patrol car at a gas station Friday night. Photo courtesy Harris County Sheriff's Office

HOUSTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Harris County law enforcement said they have detained a suspect Saturday morning in the execution-style shooting death of a deputy sheriff who was pumping gas.

Darren H. Goforth, 47, was standing by the side of his cruiser about 8:30 p.m. Friday when a man walked up behind him and opened fire. When Goforth fell to ground, the gunman shot him several more times and took off, Sheriff Ron Hickman said at a news conference. There was no apparent motive, officials said.

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"He was literally gunned down in what appears to be an unprovoked, execution-style killing," Hickman said. "I have been in law enforcement for 45 years, I have never seen anything this cold-blooded."

Investigators only had a vague description of the suspect, describing him as a "dark complected male," 20 to 25 years old, between 5-foot-10 and 6 feet tall, wearing a white shirt and red shorts. He drove off in a maroon or red extended-cab Ford Ranger. Authorities said they are reviewing security video from the gas station for more information about the suspect.

Saturday morning, police were tipped off that a man who fit the suspect's description was in a home in nearby Copperfield. The man has not been identified. The suspect's mother said he is innocent and was home at the time of the shooting.

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Investigators said Goforth, a 10-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was pumping gas after he responded to a routine car accident.

"I can tell you with diligence and justice the suspect will be caught," said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland. "And he will be brought to justice."

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