Texas Trooper Fatally Shot On Thanksgiving, Suspect In Custody

FAIRFIELD, TX — A Texas state trooper was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Freestone County late Thanksgiving afternoon, and the suspect is in custody after a manhunt ended in gunfire about 125 miles away. The trooper, identified as Damon Allen, stopped the suspect in Fairfield, located about 90 miles south of Dallas, for a traffic violation.

As Allen was walking back to his car, the suspect fired at him multiple times with a rifle, killing the trooper at the scene, Lt. Lonny Haschel of the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

The 41-year-old married father of three had been a trooper for the department since 2002.

"Our DPS family is heartbroken tonight after one of Texas' finest law enforcement officers was killed in the line of duty," DPS Director Steven McCraw said in a statement.m"Trooper Allen's dedication to duty, and his bravery and selfless sacrifice on this Thanksgiving Day, will never be forgotten."

The suspect, Dabrett Black, 32, fired an unspecified number of shots when police caught up with him about 50 miles northwest of Houston, the Waller County Sheriff''s Department said in a Facebook post. Black had been identified by a sheriff's deputy for Waller County, which is about 125 miles away from Fairfield.

"Our hearts are saddened by the loss of a brother in blue," the Waller County Sheriff's Department said on Facebook.

Black will face capital murder charges, the Department of Public Safety said. That means prosecutors could ask for the death penalty.

He was captured after search that included the use of a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter, Waller County sheriff's officials said. A live police radio dispatch carried on broadcastify.com indicated Black abandoned his vehicle for a time near the town of Prairie View, where he was surrounded by police, who used night goggles and lasers to find and track him as he moved through hay bales. They weren't sure if he still had his rifle.

Watch: Texas State Trooper Shot Dead, Suspect Caught

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