Officer shoots, kills man accused of pulling gun on police in Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston Police say a suspect pulled on gun on officers this morning now that suspect is dead.

It happened around 12:30am at Drew Street and Nettleton in the 3rd Ward.

Family members say the man who died is John Allen. His truck slammed into this tree after he was shot by Houston Police. Officers say Allen pulled a gun during a traffic stop.

"They told me to look at the news, I seen the news," said the suspect's father Sherman Allen.

Sherman Allen says his son's friends called him shortly after the shooting to tell him the bad news, that his son John Allen had been shot and killed by a Houston Police Officer. Allen says he spoke with his son during the night.

"He told me he wanted to come over and spend the night. I told him he could come on over and he never made it. I tried to call him and could not get in touch with him," he said.

Houston police say two officers were patrolling this area of Third Ward as part of a Crime Reduction Task Force when they saw John Allen run a red light and his truck had a broken taillight.

"Both officers got out of their patrol vehicle and as they approached the pickup truck on either side the officer on the driver side noticed the window was up he gave verbal commands to roll down the window which he completely ignored," said Houston Police Department spokesperson Victor Senties.

Investigators say the officer on the passenger side could see Allen pulling a gun from his pocket.

"He completely pulled the pistol out of his pocket and obviously fearing for his life and the life of his partner and the female in the pickup truck, that officer discharged his weapon," said Senties.

Allen died at the scene. Allen's friends describe him as someone who looked after people in the area and say Allen was not known to have a gun.

"It's messed up and the law should never had shot him," said the suspect's friend Keyvon Bradford.

HPD did say a gun was found in the truck. HPD's internal Affairs Division is handling the investigation; the officer involved is a 4 year veteran of the force.