POLICE Department
Suspect Fatally Shot at 9900 Beechnut Street
August 3, 2015 - Houston police are investigating an incident in which a suspect was fatally shot at 9900 Beechnut about 1:15 a.m. on Sunday (August 2).
The male suspect, Virgil Lee Reynolds, 63, was transported to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
HPD Officers C. Meade and L. Fuhlbrigge, who discharged their duty weapons, were not injured in the incident. Officers Meade and Fuhlbrigge were sworn in as officers in April 2007 and October 2012, respectively, and are assigned to the Midwest Patrol Division.
HPD Homicide Division Sergeant H. Garcia and Officer R. Nunez reported:
About 12:15 a.m., HPD officers received information of a wrong-way driver in a gray Toyota Tacoma pickup truck on the Southwest Freeway (South Interstate Highway 59)between Bellaire and Hillcroft. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle but the suspect (Reynolds) refused to stop. Reynolds led officers on a pursuit in which he intentionally drove the wrong way on freeways and major roadways with heavy to moderate traffic. During the pursuit, Reynolds intentionally struck moving and parked vehicles, as well as HPD patrol vehicles.
As the pursuit reached the above address, HPD officers were directed to block the the suspect's vehicle, as he attempted to evade officers by driving through a business strip parking lot. Reynolds then attempted to strike patrol vehicles and officers with his pickup truck. Fearing for their lives and that of their fellow officers, Officers Meade and Fuhlbrigge discharged their duty weapons at Reynolds. Reynolds then accelerated through patrol vehicles attempting to block him in, struck a center esplanade, and then a curb on the opposite side of the roadway. As the pickup came to stop, officers approached, took Reynolds into custody and immediately administered first aid with their Individual First Aid kits (IFAKs) until HFD paramedics arrived. Reynolds was then transported to the hospital where he died.
As is customary in HPD officer-involved shooting incidents in the city limits, this case is being investigated by the HPD Homicide and Internal Affairs Divisions, as well as the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
VHS/KJS 8-3-15
Inc. #099571615
For additional information, please contact the HPD Public Affairs Division at 713-308-3200.
