Houston police shoot armed suspect, file charges after west Houston standoff

A west Houston confrontation that began with a father and his 1-year-old son ended with a gunshot, a hospital trip and two misdemeanor charges against Letonto Gaspard, 49. Houston police say the encounter moved from Briargreen Drive to Briarview Drive before one officer fired after Gaspard pointed a gun toward two responding officers.

Police said the trouble started in the 2400 block of Briargreen Drive, where a man walking with his toddler told officers another male pointed a weapon at them. The father called 911, and officers later found a suspect matching that description on Locke Lane. HPD said the suspect ignored commands to stop and drop the firearm, then kept walking as officers tried to take control of the scene.

The encounter shifted to the 2200 block of Briarview Drive, where police say Gaspard turned the gun toward the two officers. One officer fired his duty weapon and struck Gaspard at least once. Officers gave first aid at the scene until paramedics arrived and took him to a hospital. No officers were injured, and the father and child were not hurt.

In a June 12 release, HPD said charges were filed after investigators reviewed the shooting and consulted with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Gaspard was charged in Harris County Criminal Court #3 and #4 with two counts of misdemeanor deadly conduct. The department identified the incident as an officer-involved shooting and said the case involved an armed suspect in a residential stretch of west Houston.

ABC13 reported that the officer who fired had been with HPD for five years. HPD also said command staff and the public information office were headed to the scene soon after the shooting, underscoring how quickly the response escalated once officers faced a suspect they say was armed and refusing commands.

For Harris County residents, the key facts are straightforward: police say a gun was pointed at a father and child, the suspect then turned the weapon on officers, and the threat ended with one suspect hospitalized and two criminal charges filed. HPD says it serves more than 2 million Houston residents with more than 5,400 officers and 892 civilian support personnel, and this case now moves forward through the county courts.