5 Houston police officers are wounded and two suspects dead after search, authorities say

Reporting from Houston —  Two suspects are dead after a Monday shooting that wounded five Houston police officers, including four who were hit as they tried to serve a search warrant at a home where drug selling was suspected, the police chief said.

About a dozen officers with the Houston Police Department’s narcotics unit were attempting to serve the warrant when they forced open the home’s front door and immediately faced gunfire from one or two individuals, Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

Police targeted the southeast Houston home following a tip that black tar heroin was being sold there, Acevedo said.

“Once the officers breached the door and the gunfire began from the suspects, one of the suspects actually retreated momentarily to the back of the room and then that suspect came back and again engaged the officers in gunfire,” Acevedo said at a Monday evening news conference.

It was not immediately known how many officers returned fire. Two suspects were found dead after SWAT officers used two robots to go into the home and determine that it was safe to enter after the gunfire stopped.

All the officers were taken to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston.

Four officers were shot, with two being hit in the neck. Those two officers underwent surgery and were in critical but stable condition, Acevedo said.

“We’re hopeful that they will recover,” Acevedo said.

The other two officers who were shot were in stable condition and were able to walk around, Acevedo said. They were expected to remain hospitalized for at least 24 hours.

A fifth officer, who suffered a knee injury, was also in stable condition.

Acevedo didn’t immediately have additional information about the suspects. The names of the injured officers were not immediately released.

“This has been a tough day for our city,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “Pray for (the injured officers) and pray for their families.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that the shooting was a “solemn reminder” of the service and sacrifices made by officers.