Reports of shots fired may link up to a deadly helicopter crash. One officer was killed and another is fighting for his life. Was it murder? Authorities want some answers and they already started a homicide investigation.
Reports of shots fired
Houston police are scrambling to determine if the reports of shots fired had anything to do with a deadly helicopter crash, which killed one veteran officer and left another battling for his life. The helicopter was providing air support in the search for “bodies in a nearby bayou,” which Police Chief Art Acevedo is convinced was “probably a bogus call.” It was separately reported that they were “on a call about a reported drowning near the Greenspoint area.”
No bodies have been found and police are “still investigating whether the helicopter was struck by gunfire.” According to officials, six individuals “were arrested in connection with” reported gun shots in the area, which came in “about an hour after the crash.”
Houston police officer Chase Cormier remains in serious condition at Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, police spokesperson Natasha Barrett relates. The 35-year-old officer was upgraded from critical condition after surgery.
A federal investigation
Independent from the Houston homicide investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are both probing into what caused the crash. Apparently the helicopter was circling over an apartment complex on Imperial Valley Drive.
All anyone really knows for sure at this point, is that “something went terribly wrong with the aircraft.” They think there were shots fired but nobody can be certain. Bystanders report that they “fell from the sky and crashed into the leasing office at the Biscayne Apartments.”
The cause of the Saturday morning helicopter crash which killed Officer Jason Knox, the 35-year-old son of Houston City Council Member Mike Knox, is being investigated as a homicide. Council member Knox issued a statement on Sunday expressing his gratitude. “We appreciate the privacy you have given us and continue to provide as we walk this road we would never wish for anyone, but that we now accept as ours.”
Chief Acevedo insists, “although we don’t have any indication at this point, we want to start with a wide net in terms of our investigation and continue to narrow our focus.” Video taken by witnesses on the ground shows “the helicopter hovering before it begins to spin out of control and rapidly lose altitude just before 2 a.m. Police say that it wouldn’t be the first time someone took a few shots at a helicopter. “It is not commonly known that law enforcement aviation comes under fire on a regular basis across our country,” Acevedo explains.
