Pct. 4 constable deputy shot, 2 deputies injured in shootout in Atascocita

ATASCOCITA, Texas (FOX 26) - A Harris County Precinct 4 deputy constable is recovering in the hospital following a shootout that injured him as well as two other deputies.

Deputy Constable Christopher Gaines, 25, was hit several times by shots from a shotgun. Some of those pellets were lodged in bones. He is now out of surgery and in stable condition.

Investigators say they were called around 2:50 a.m. to a home in the 12400 block of Saratoga Woods Lane after a disturbance was reported at the home. When deputies arrived, a male suspect came out of a home with a shot gun and started shooting at the deputies.  Deputies then returned fire, shooting the suspect. 

Deputy Gaines, a 2-year veteran of the force, was injured the most, hit with several shots. He was transported via Life Flight to Memorial Herman where he underwent around eight hours of surgery and is now in stable condition.

“Orthopedic surgeons that literally went in, they removed buckshot pellets from his leg bones, and he had urologists surgeons that came in behind them and also did some surgery on his lower extremities also,” said Constable Herman.

Six deputies responded to the home, and four returned fire. Another deputy was grazed by a pellet and required nine stitches.

The sheriff’s office and the DA’s office will be conducting their own investigations. The suspect, identified as Wesley Adam Smith, 31,  is charged with four counts of aggravated assault on a public servant. Constable Herman did not provide an update on his condition other than saying he had 22 bullet entry and exit wounds and is alive.