Authorities in Harris County, Texas say 30-year-old Shannon Miles ambushed sheriff’s deputy Darren Goforth and shot him 15 times at a Houston-area gas station Friday.
Miles was arraigned Monday and is being held without bond on capital murder charges.
“They found Deputy Darren Goforth face down in a pool of his own blood,” Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson told a judge during Monday’s court proceedings, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Miles allegedly approached 47-year-old Goforth from behind and shot him in the back of the head. Miles continued shooting the 10-year veteran, who was in full uniform and still on duty, even after he fell to the ground.
The 15 shell casings found at the scene matched a .40-caliber handgun found at Miles home, according to Anderson.
“He unloaded the entire weapon into Deputy Goforth,” she said in court.
https://twitter.com/CodyJDuty/status/638373598185459712
Goforth leaves behind a wife and two children. Thousands gathered Sunday night at the Chevron gas station where he was gunned down.
While the motive for the shooting is still not clear, Anderson and other Harris County officials have placed blame on the “very dangerous” rhetoric coming from the Black Lives Matter movement.
“It is time for the silent majority in this country to support law enforcement,” Anderson said at a press conference Saturday before Miles was officially arrested.
DA: Shannon Miles unloaded entire pistol into Deputy Darren Goforth. 15 shots. No known motive yet. pic.twitter.com/LbpE6TVs2f
— Tim Wetzel (@KHOUTim) August 31, 2015
Harris County sheriff Ron Hickman echoed her sentiments.
“We’ve heard ‘black lives matter,’ ‘all lives matter’ — well, cops’ lives matter too. So why don’t we just drop the qualifier and say ‘lives matter,’ and take that to the bank,” he said at the presser. (RELATED: Following Execution Of Deputy, Officials Condemn ‘Open Warfare’ On Cops)
Miles has a criminal record which includes a misdemeanor gun charge and several others for evading arrest between 2005 and 2009. Resumes that he has posted online indicate that he has worked at numerous fast food restaurants over the past 15 years. He also claims on his resume and on his Facebook account that he has attended the University of Houston, Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M.
The latter gained national attention last month after 28-year-old Sandra Bland was arrested by a Texas state trooper following a minor traffic stop. Bland, who attended Prairie View and had recently taken a job at the school, which is about 30 miles from Friday’s shooting, died in a Waller County jail cell three days after her arrest. Though her death was ruled a suicide, Black Lives Matter activists have alleged foul play.
