A female police officer was shot in her face during a high-speed chase while trying to arrest a carjacker in Texas on Saturday. Missouri City Police Officer Crystal Sepulveda, 29, was rushed to the hospital after the suspect shot her twice in the face before being shot dead by the police in a fierce gun battle.
A dramatic video has appeared on social media that shows Sepulveda being carried into a Houston hospital on Saturday morning by her colleagues in the back of a cruiser after she was shot in the face. According to the police, Sepulveda is stable now but she could have died had she not been brought to the hospital on time.
Almost Dead
According to KPRC and information shared at a news conference held by Houston police on Saturday, Sepulveda, 29, a Missouri City police officer who has been on the force for three years, is suspected of having been shot in the foot and face after she and other officers spotted a stolen car at a Houston gas station early on Saturday.
The car was spotted around 2:30 am and police started chasing the suspect. According to police, the car was used in an aggravated robbery on Friday.
After pursuing the car for some time, cops tried to pull over the vehicle but the suspect refused to stop. Unable to control the suspect, police from Houston were requested as a backup.
The driver eventually came to a stop at a house in Houston's 15500 block of Corsair Road, got out, and began rushing between houses into the backyards, according to KHOU.
When police approached him, the suspect started shooting at them, with two shots hitting Sepulveda in the process. One of the shots hit her in the face and the other in her toe.
Luckily, her colleagues were prompt enough to transport her to the Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, where she is now staying with her family and friends.
Fierce Gun Fight
While Sepulveda was being shifted to the hospital, police set up a perimeter around the neighborhood and located the suspect who Houston Police Chief Troy Finnier told KPRC. The suspect was then killed after a fierce gunfight.
Police said that the suspect was carrying "two automatic guns with extended magazines" from which he fired at the cops. Although his identification is being withheld at the moment, authorities said he is believed to be between the ages of 25 and 30.
Sepulveda's colleagues said she is a "fighter" and expected to "survive her injuries."
Carolyn Smith is relieved that no stray bullets were fired during the gunfight outside her home, where she believes the shooting took place.
"Bullets didn't go in the house. Bullets could have gone in the house," she told FOX 26. "The car could have came through the window, so I feel much better to know God protected my son that was here last night."
Smith, who had been deeply traumatized by the incident, was also relieved to find that Sepulveda, a Missouri City police officer of three years' standing, had survived the assault.
"Before I got home, I thought she was gone. And I think that took me down mostly because when you have family members serving on the same job it does make you feel bad, but when I heard that she was okay, I felt a whole lot better," she said.
