Houston shoot-out leads to concerns of spillover violence

Washington, Nov 28, 2011 -

Houston shoot-out leads to concerns of spillover violence

SAN ANTONIO - In their initial court appearance Wednesday, four suspects have been charged with capital murder after Monday's wild shootout in Houston that left a government informant dead and wounded a Harris County deputy.

Undercover agents fired back when the men in three SUV's allegedly shot at a tanker truck driven by the informant that was under surveillance, said Christina Garza, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

An ongoing investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has not confirmed whether the suspects had ties to the Zetas drug cartel, according to a DEA spokeswoman.

"The steps that they took to go after 300 pounds of marijuana and to go kill somebody is just amazing what they did," said Henry Cuellar, who represents the 28th Congressional district.

Cuellar said the brazen attack could well be the first incident of spillover violence in a major Texas city, the state's largest.

"Does it concern me? Yes, it does," Cuellar said.

His Republican counterpart in the 23rd Congressional district, Francisco "Quico" Canseco said the shootout would qualify under his bill now pending in committee.

"If you don't have a way to identify it, then it doesn't exist. So, this bill will identify what is cross border violence," Canseco said.

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