SAN ELIZARIO, Texas -- A Texas deputy was in critical condition Friday after he was shot multiple times during an early-morning traffic stop in El Paso, police said.
El Paso County Sheriff’s deputy Peter Herrera pulled over a vehicle just before 2 a.m. in San Elizario for headlight and registration violations and then ordered its occupants — a man and a woman — out of the vehicle, the El Paso Times reported.
El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles said that as soon as the pair exited the car, one of them repeatedly shot at Herrera, who did not return fire.
The suspects, who have not been identified, dumped their weapon and fled the scene, but authorities found them hiding out in a shed down the street following a brief search. They were both arrested and taken into custody without incident.
Investigators also reportedly recovered the weapon used in the shooting.
Herrera was struck by the gunfire multiple times, including once in the head — but Wiles said the bullet missed the deputy’s brain. He was in stable but critical condition following surgery Friday morning.
“Please join me in praying for the swift recovery of the El Paso Sheriff’s deputy who was shot in the line of duty this morning,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said in an afternoon tweet.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook announced a blood drive for the wounded deputy between 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at its headquarters on Friday.
“Deputy Herrera was shot in the early hours of Friday, March 22, 2019, while conducting a traffic stop in San Elizario," officers said in a news release. “We ask for your help and prayers for Deputy Herrera, his family and loved ones, and his brothers and sisters who serve our communities with pride.”
The violent incident remains under investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers as well as the sheriff’s office and other local authorities.
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