HOUSTON – Two people have been arrested in connection with the shooting of an off-duty Houston police officer and a store clerk during a robbery at a northwest Houston adult novelty store.
According to the Houston Police Department, the female off-duty officer was shopping at the Zone D'Erotica at 13137 Willow Chase Boulevard and Tomball Parkway Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. when two masked gunmen stormed in. While the men were trying to rob the store, the suspects shot the clerk, police said.
The officer, J.R. Smith, managed to get out of the store, but was shot in the shoulder when she tried to retrieve her duty weapon from her vehicle.
"As she exits the store, the suspects follow her out, chase her out and as she's getting into (her) vehicle, the suspects shot her," said HPD spokesman Victor Senties. "At this time, it does not appear she had the opportunity to identify herself as an officer. It all happened rather quickly."
Officer Smith drove about a half block when another driver saw her shot-out window and called 911.
Both the officer and the clerk were taken to Houston Northwest Medical Center in stable condition. Both were released from the hospital Wednesday morning.
"One did have his face completely concealed. A second man was wearing a ball cap and kept his head down to conceal his face," Senties said.
Police said they went to a home on Wednesday afternoon and arrested two suspects. Stolen merchandise and a gun were inside the home, investigators said.
The suspects' names and mug shots have not been released because charges against them have not yet been filed.
Smith has been a Houston Police officer since September 2011.