A Texas man died in a shootout with police after a traffic stop, and he was livestreaming it on Facebook while also talking to his sister on the phone.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said officers pulled over 47-year-old Patrick Hurst on the Farm to Market 1960 road near Ella Boulevard in Houston.
Hurst led police on a short chase before he shot at police and they returned fire, killing him.
Video from the incident shows that he was livestreaming on Facebook and also on the phone with Angela Washington, his sister.
The livestream video clearly shows him holding a gun before stepping out of the car to confront police. Surveillance video showed police fanning out to confront him at a gas station.
“I was on the phone, and I was looking at him live,” said Washington.
She said that she was trying to stop her brother during the incident. She also said that he didn’t have any grudge against the police.
By the time Washington arrived at the scene, her brother had already died.
“What we say yesterday, I feel was a mental breakdown,” she added.
A woman who was shopping in the area was struck by a bullet from the shootout. A private school bus was also struck by gunfire.
His sister remembered saying to him, “Don’t do it!” before the fatal interaction with police.
The sheriff said that the man claimed to be a sovereign citizen, but Washington denies that claim and says he had never said anything about being a sovereign citizen to family members. Sovereign citizens believe that the laws of the U.S. do not apply to them, and many have come afoul of law enforcement in their interactions.
She admitted that he had faced mental health issues in recent years but said that she didn’t know he owned a gun until the incident with police.
HCSO said that a ballistics test will determine whether the bystander and the school bus were shot by a police officer or Hurst.
Washington said she wanted to remember him from happier times.
“He was always doing God’s work. He was always doing our father’s business,” Washington recalled. “That’s the honest to God’s truth. So this was a big shock.
Here’s more about the incident:
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