The man who led the police on a wild chase in northeast Harris County was shot dead.
The case began Wednesday April 15 at about 10:30 a.m. in the 4300 block of Weaver. It ended half an hour later in the 15100 block of Wallisville Road near Castlegory, close to North Shore Middle School after the car he was driving hit another vehicle at an intersection. He would later hit other two cars.
The suspect got out of the car but then tried to get back into the vehicle. That was the moment when deputies opened fire, shooting him dead at the scene.
The driver was identified as Frank “Trey” Shephard, a 41-year old father of three who worked as a barber.
His uncle later described to the media how he was watching TV, asking himself why would a person run from the police, when he received a call from his sister, Frank’s mother, who told him that the driver was his nephew and that he died as a result of the shooting.
The chase began after a Harris county police officer tried to pull him over. The driver did the exact opposite, he sped away. As a result, the officer chased him down. The driver first headed north on the Eastex Freeway and then switched to the North Sam Houston Tollway and headed east. Several police cars were already chasing him. At one point he decided to get off the toll road and use surface streets.
The police used 25 cars to block the intersection between Castlegory Road and Wallisville Road, close to James Harvard Elementary School and North Shore Middle School, the same place where the suspect was later shot dead.
Numerous people gathered at the scene where the chase ended. Torrey Smith, a 16-year-old teenager was in his home when he heard a helicopter and many cars speeding by. He described how he saw a person “lying on the ground” and the bullet holes in the getaway car.
According to Jonathan Frey, spokesman for the Galena Park Independent School District, the schools close to the scene, Harvard Elementary and North Shore Middle schools, were put on lockdown mode for about half an hour. All entrances were locked and no one was allowed to leave or enter the buildings.
Image Source: CHhron