Texas
FCC gets thousands of complaints for early morning Blue Alert over Texas police chief shot by armed suspect
The Federal Communications Commission has received thousands of complaints from angry Texans over an early morning notification to their cellphones about the shooting of a police chief last week.
The Blue Alert rattled devices just before 5 a.m. on Oct. 4 in an effort to find and arrest Seth Altman, 33, who is the subject of a manhunt over the shooting of Memphis Police Chief Rex Plant in the Texas Panhandle.
The FCC said it has received 4,500 complaints about the safety alert.
It was not clear how the agency would address the grievances.
The FCC told Fox News Digital it doesn’t send the notifications, noting that its primary role is to adopt technical and operational rules for the communications providers that deliver alerts to the public.
Plant and another officer were serving an arrest warrant on Altman at his home on Thursday night for a suspected burglary, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said.
Altman opened fire and struck Plant before running away, authorities said.
The police chief was flown to a hospital in Lubbock where he remains in stable condition.
Altman has been added to Texas’ Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list and is wanted for attempted capital murder of a peace officer, DPS said.
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
Sheridan Nolen, the DPS press secretary, told Fox News Digital that Blue Alerts are meant to warn the public of possible danger.
“They are designed to speed up the apprehension of violent criminals who kill or seriously wound law enforcement officers by generating tips and leads for the investigating agencies, and therefore giving those agencies the best opportunity to apprehend a dangerous criminal,” Nolen said.
On Monday, Crime Stoppers of Wichita/Sedgwick County in Kansas said Altman may be in its area.
“Seth may be in the Wichita Metro Area,” Crime Stoppers said in a Facebook post, noting that he stands about 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighs around 220 pounds and wears glasses.
The Blue Law program was signed into Texas law in 2008.
Criteria for sending the alert includes when a law enforcement officer is killed or seriously hurt, when a suspect poses a serious risk or threat to the public, and when there is a detailed description of the offender’s vehicle, vehicle tag or partial tag that must be available for broadcast to the public.
The investigating law enforcement agency must also recommend it, according to the DPS website.
No. 1 seed Texas (51-12, 16-8 in SEC play) and No. 3 seed Texas Tech (61-8, 21-3 in the Big 12) begin their three-game series at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday in Oklahoma City. Each
Texas
Brazoria County deputy shoots, kills Texas State University student after car chase, report says
BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas – A Texas State University student was shot and killed by a Brazoria County Sheriff’s deputy early Monday morning after an attempted traffic stop in Lake Jackson.
The news was first reported by The University Star, Texas State’s student-run newspaper.
In a Tuesday statement to KSAT, the university identified the student as John Gabriel Mendoza Jr., 18. He was a freshman who studied management, according to the school.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, classmates, and all those affected by this tragedy,” the university said in its statement.
Deputies attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle just after midnight Monday near Farm-to-Market 2004 and This Way Street in Lake Jackson, the sheriff’s office said.
The driver of the vehicle, who was identified as Mendoza by The University Star, did not stop, deputies said. The deputies then chased after the vehicle for approximately a mile into a neighborhood located in the 100 block of Indian Warrior Trail.
According to the sheriff’s office, the driver went inside a home’s garage and parked before a deputy approached the vehicle, the release said.
The deputy then pulled out his firearm and shot into the vehicle. The sheriff’s office said the gunfire struck the driver.
The University Star reported that Mendoza was the one shot. He was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The deputy who pulled the trigger has since been placed on administrative leave in accordance with the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office policy.
KSAT reached out to the Lake Jackson Police Department and the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office for more information, but neither agency has responded at this time.
The shooting investigation is being led by the Texas Rangers, according to a Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office news release.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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