Harris County authorities said Saturday that a suspect had been arrested and would be charged in what Sheriff Ron Hickman described as the "cold-blooded assassination" of a deputy sheriff at a Houston-area gas station.
Deputy Darren Goforth, 47, was fatally shot in the back late Friday while filling his patrol car in northwest Harris County.
Hickman, in discussing the shooting with reporters, condemned the "very dangerous national rhetoric" about police officers that he said was out of control.
The sheriff's office said Saturday afternoon, without elaboration, that a suspect had been arrested and would be charged with the killing. The office announced on Twitter a news conference for 4:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m.) to discuss the case.
The suspect, whose image was caught on surveillance video, approached Goforth from behind and shot him several times in the back. He continued to fire even after the officer had fallen to the ground.
The gunman is shown in photos as a dark-complexioned male wearing a white T-shirt and red shorts and apparently driving a red or maroon-colored Ford pickup.
Hickman said the killing was unprovoked and that Goforth was apparently singled out only because he was wearing the uniform of a law enforcement officer. The sheriff made it clear he felt the shooting was tied to a national backlash over several recent killings of unarmed black people by police officers.
"When rhetoric ramps up to the point where cold-blooded assassination has happened, this rhetoric has gotten out of control," he said. "We heard 'black lives matter.' All lives matter. Well, cops' lives matter too, so why don't we drop the qualifier and say 'lives matter' and take that to the bank."
Black Lives Matter is a decentralized national movement that gained momentum after recent shootings by police officers.
His remarks echoed comments in the same new conference by Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson, who said the criticism of police had gotten out of hand.
"It is time for the silent majority in this country to support law enforcement," she told reporters at the news conference. "There are a few bad apples in every profession, that does not mean there should be open warfare on law enforcement."
Earlier, sheriff's office spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland said officials were speaking with a person of interest in connection with the shooting and had obtained a search warrant for the person's home.
Goforth was a 10-year veteran with the sheriff's office, working the west district patrol division. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
