Bodycam footage shows when officers shoot Missouri City officer-involved shooting suspect
HOUSTON - New body cam footage shows the moment Houston Police Department officers shot a suspect in the July 23 officer-involved shooting in Missouri City.
HPD was one of the few agencies that responded to the area that night after Missouri City officer Crystal Sepulveda was shot in the face moments before.
BACKGROUND: Missouri City officer shot in face after responding to robbery call, suspect killed
The suspect in that shooting, 19-year-old Jeffrey Bundrent, Jr., was a robbery suspect who exchanged gunfire with Sepulveda, according to Assistant Chief Wyatt Martin.
Martin describes the incident in a 13-minute YouTube video. HPD also says they are in the very early stages of the investigation and continue to review additional evidence as it is collected.
Their report states at 2:37 a.m., Missouri City Police attempted to stop a vehicle that was reported stolen. Bundrent, Jr., the driver of the vehicle, refused to stop.
When officers pursued the suspect, police say Bundrent lost control of the vehicle and crashed it into a front yard of a residence.
He then exited the car and ran away from officers while a juvenile passenger remained in the stolen vehicle.
Officer Sepulveda continued to pursue Bundrent on foot as he went into the backyard of a home on the 15500 block of Corsair Road.
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Bundrent fired a gun multiple times and struck Sepulveda, then ran away from the scene.
In one officer's body camera, you can see multiple officers responding to the scene, grabbing tactical weapons, and gathering information on where the suspect could be.
"My partner that was just shot, she was running behind him," says one Missouri City officer. "I'm gonna show you where we last seen him. Let me lead. That's my partner, let me lead."
In two separate body cam videos, worn by HPD officers identified as M. Duron and J. Rodgers, you can see and hear the moment when officers locate Bundrent, Jr. in the backyard of another home on the 15500 block of Winter Blair Drive. Police say as one shot was discharged from Bundrent, officers fired back at him, hitting him multiple times.
He was rendered aid and sent to the hospital, but later pronounced dead.
Missouri City Police Chief Mike Berezin says Officer Sepulveda is recovering at home with her family after being shot in the face and foot in that shooting.
"We’ve got a long road to recovery," says Berezin. "We’re praying that she’ll have a full recovery. Time will tell if that’s going to happen or not. Her spirits remain high, all things considered. She's just happy to be home with her son."