Texas deputy working extra job as mall security fatally shot by thug who wrestled his gun away amid confrontation

A Texas constable deputy who was off duty Wednesday afternoon and working his extra job as security at a Houston mall was fatally shot by a suspect who wrestled away his gun amid a confrontation.

Image source: KTRK-TV video screenshot

What are the details?

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said it was possible that Neil Adams of San Jacinto County Precinct 1 was responding to a disturbance in a store at the former Sharpstown Mall when the shooting took place, NBC News reported.

Investigators said the suspect — so far described only as a 35-year-old man — managed to wrestle Adams' gun away and shoot him with it, KTRK-TV reported, adding that he later died after being taken to a hospital.

"He's a hero," Finner said of Adams, according to the station. "He's a hero, and we want to honor him."

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush — son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — tweeted that Adams "was attacked because of the badge he proudly wore."

What happened to the suspect?

Investigators added to KTRK that the suspect made his way to the mall's food court where two Houston police officers found him after they were called for an officer assist.

But when the suspect threatened the officers with a sharp object, both officers fired their weapons at him, the station said, adding that the suspect later died at a hospital.

'Everybody's turned their back on' law enforcement

Adams' widow, Dee Dee Adams, spoke to reporters just hours after her husband's death and asked for prayers for all law enforcement personnel, KTRK said.

Dee Dee AdamsImage source: KTRK-TV video screenshot

"My husband always said you can either be a sheep or a sheepdog, and I want everybody to pray for all the sheepdogs out there that are protecting everybody," Dee Dee Adams — who's also San Jacinto County Treasurer — said to reporters, according to the station. "They get a bad rap, and they just want to protect. That's what they want to do in their heart. Everybody's turned their back on them, and everybody should pray for all of them because they're here for you."

San Jacinto County Precinct 1 Constable Roy Rogers said Adams had been in law enforcement since 2012 and worked for the county sheriff's office and also served as the county's environmental officer.