By BOBBY HORN JR.
EAST HARRIS COUNTY– The morning hours of May 17 were interrupted with a high-speed chase which began in eastern Chambers county and ended with a suspect reportedly killing himself at a Wal-Mart in East Harris County.
According to authorities, at approximately 10:45 a.m. a Department of Public Safety trooper attempted to make what has been described as a “routine traffic stop” of a green Dodge 1500 4×4 pickup with Kentucky license plates traveling westbound on Interstate 10, near mile marker 821. This is approximately 21 miles west of Mont Belvieu.
The driver of the vehicle has been identified as David D. Armstrong, 36, of Hardin Co. Ky.
Troopers say that when the vehicle failed to pull over they ran a check on the vehicle. A report came back that the registered owner of the vehicle was wanted on federal charges of manufacturing methamphetamines.
Troopers pursued the truck along Interstate 10, at times reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.
After passing by Baytown and Highlands, the truck continued toward Houston. Eventually, the driver pulled into a parking lot of a Wal-Mart located at 13750 I-10, near the Freeport exit.
The suspect then left the vehicle near the front door of the store. As he did, authorities say that he was carrying a handgun. Despite a trooper firing a shot in his direction, the suspect entered the store. Witnesses say that the man then grabbed a clerk and forced her at gunpoint into a dressing area in the middle of the store.
The man is then believed to have shot himself once in the head.
Both the suspect and the hostage were taken to Memorial-Hermann Hospital via LifeFlight air ambulance. The man was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at the hospital, while the clerk was treated for minor injuries.
The case is under investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Harris County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Division and the Harris County District Attorney’s Civil Rights Division.
