A man was shot in the leg after refusing to hand over his wallet to a thief, police said.

A couple waved down a Houston police officer driving by in southwest Houston after a man held them at gunpoint while attempting to rob them around 11 p.m. Friday near South Gessner Road and Bellaire Boulevard , according to officers.

When the thief demanded the couple hand over their money the man refused, so the thief shot him in the leg and took off running, police said.

The Houston Fire Department took the victim to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital in stable condition.