HOUSTON—Officers shot and wounded a man early Tuesday when he charged at them with a knife after he killed a construction worker with the worker’s own stolen truck, crashed into the lobby of a Houston high-rise, and then stabbed someone else, police said.
The suspect carjacked the 59-year-old construction worker’s truck shortly before 3:30 a.m., police said. As the victim was walking to the office of the luxury apartment building west of downtown where he had been working, the suspect ran him over and then crashed into the lobby of the building, which is still under construction but is 30 percent occupied, police Chief Troy Finner said.
The construction worker, whose name police didn’t release, died at the scene.
The building’s concierge, who was at a desk in the lobby, wasn’t hurt during the crash and barricaded himself inside an office. The suspect got back into the truck and crashed it into the office, but the concierge wasn’t hurt, Finner said.
The suspect then stabbed in the back a 51-year-old man who came to the lobby area after the crashes, Finner said. That victim was in stable condition.
Officers found the suspect walking down the street and told him multiple times to drop the knife but he refused and charged, leading them to shoot him, the chief said.
The suspect, whose name has not been released, was shot at least twice but managed to get up, leading the officers to use their stun guns to subdue him, Finner said.
The suspect was taken to a hospital, where he was in surgery, police said.
“This is a senseless incident. I don’t know what the motivation is, if you can even describe it. What would motivate somebody to do this?” Finner wondered.
