A 21-year Houston Police Department veteran killed himself with a single gunshot to the head at the same police station where he worked, according to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo. The sergeant was married and had two children, ages 10 and 12.
The sergeant was found around 8:35 a.m. inside of a stairwell on the fourth floor at the Westside Patrol Station. The fourth floor is not currently in use, so no one heard the gunshot.
Officers working in the station decided to search the facility after they discovered at 7 a.m. the sergeant had not come to work.
“You can’t explain these things,” Acevedo said. “We ask that people please just pray for the family, pray for those young children.”
Police have not yet released the sergeant’s name, and the investigation continues. HPD psychological services and chaplain services were on site at the Westside Patrol Station on Friday morning.