By Mike Glenn
The Houston Chronicle
HOUSTON, Tex. — Police are searching for two men who tried to shoot an off-duty deputy constable Saturday during a violent carjacking outside a southeast Houston store.
Kathryn J. Kay, 57, was in the parking lot of the store in the 8100 Block of Martin Luther King about 2 p.m. when the men approached and demanded her purse and car keys, police said.
Kay, of the 7800 block of Belbay, was hit in the head with a pistol when she struggled with the robbers and called for help, police said.
Reserve Harris County deputy constable Cline Armstrong, 63, was inside the store when he heard Kay had been beaten and robbed.
As he struggled with the attackers, one of them pulled a pistol and tried to shoot Armstrong in the chest. The weapon, however, apparently misfired, police said.
Armstrong fell to the ground as he attempted to pull Kay to safety. One of the men attempted, but failed, to shoot at the deputy constable a second time, police said.
One man fled on foot, taking Kay’s purse with him while the other man drove away in the victim’s 2000 Chrysler Concord. Kay was knocked to the ground by the car as she tried to stop him, police said.
Armstrong used his pickup truck in an attempt to block their getaway. He also fired his pistol several times at the stolen car, police said.
The victim’s Chrysler was found about 5 p.m. near the scene of the armed robbery. Police said it had been set on fire.
Armstrong was not injured in the attack. Kay was treated for a possible concussion and abrasions that she received.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office and detectives with HPD’s homicide and internal affairs divisions are investigating, customary in any officer-involved shootings.
Anyone with information is asked to contact HPD homicide detectives at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Copyright 2007 The Houston Chronicle