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Suspect arrested in Texas deputy 'execution-style' shooting

By Amy R. Connolly
Shannon J. Miles was charged in the execution-style shooting death of Harris County, Texas Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth at a gas station. Photo courtesy Harris County Sheriff's Office/Facebook
1 of 5 | Shannon J. Miles was charged in the execution-style shooting death of Harris County, Texas Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth at a gas station. Photo courtesy Harris County Sheriff's Office/Facebook

HOUSTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Investigators continue Sunday to dig for answers in the execution-style shooting death of a deputy sheriff after a 30-year-old man was arrested and charged in what police called an "unprovoked" attack.

Shannon J. Miles is being held on a charge of capital murder in the death of Deputy Darren Goforth, 47, a 10-year veteran with the sheriff's office. Investigators said Miles shot Goforth, who was in uniform, from behind at a Chevron station about 8:20 p.m. Friday. Miles has a criminal history that includes resisting arrest, trespassing, evading detention and disorderly conduct with a firearm, Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said.

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Hickman said Saturday the shooting was "unprovoked" and attributed it to the "very dangerous national rhetoric" about police officers nationwide. He said all indications show Goforth was targeted "because he wore a uniform," adding he does not believe the two men knew each other.

"When rhetoric ramps up to the point where [a] cold-blooded assassination has happened, this rhetoric has gotten out of control," he said. "We heard 'black lives matter.' All lives matter. Well, cops' lives matter too, so why don't we drop the qualifier and say 'lives matter' and take that to the bank."

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Goforth's wife said she is still trying to make sense of the shooting, saying her husband was an "ethical" person who strived to do the "right thing."

"My husband was an incredibly intricate blend of toughness and gentility. He was always loyal, fiercely so. He was ethical. The right thing to do is what guided his internal compass," she said in a statement read by a friend. "If people want to know what kind of man he was, this is it: He was who you wanted for a friend, a colleague and a neighbor."

Hundreds gathered at the gas station into the night Saturday to pay tribute to Goforth. A memorial with balloons, flowers and tributes was stacked around the gas pump where Goforth was killed.

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