HOUSTON (September 17, 2012)--Houston police officers shot and wounded a man they thought had a gun after he refused to show his hands, and then made a quick movement, pulling out an object that turned out to be a cell phone.
Houston police spokesman John Cannon said the man, whose name wasn’t released, was taken to the hospital after the shooting Sunday night outside of an apartment complex.
The man, who was wounded in the lower leg, is expected to survive.
Cannon says the officers were responding to a call about a suspicious man with a gun.
The man refused commands to show and raise his hands and then reached into his pants from which he pulled the object that turned out to be the phone.
Cannon said that the officers feared the man had a gun and opened fire.
Police later said the man was interviewed at the hospital and investigators learned he has a history of mental illness and has attempted suicide several times.
They say it appears that the man was trying to commit suicide by provoking the officers.
