Jefferson County Justice of the Peace shot in Houston



Enterprise file photo Tom Gillam

Enterprise file photo Tom Gillam Photo: File Photo: File Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Jefferson County Justice of the Peace shot in Houston 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Jefferson County Precinct 8 Justice of the Peace Tom Gillam III is in stable condition after he was shot at on Tuesday night in Houston, according to a spokesman for the Houston Police Department.

Gillam, 62, sustained a wound to the face from a bullet fragment or debris after an unknown man shot at him at the 700 block of Martin Luther King Jk. Blvd. at about 10:40 p.m., said Kese Smith, a spokesman for the Houston Police Department.

Gillam told police he pulled off the road into the parking lot of a business to take a phone call when he said he was approached by woman who asked him for money three times. He said he repeatedly refused and said as he was pulling out of the parking lot, he saw a man in wearing a hooded coat approach his vehicle, pulled a pistol out out his waistband and started firing at him.

Gillam told police said he took out his gun from the passenger side of the vehicle and started firing back, and said he is not sure if he struck the suspect.

Houston police said they found two bullet holes in Gillam's 2006 Mercedes Benz.

He was taken to at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, said Smith.

The Houston Police Department's Major Assaults Unit is conducting a follow-up investigation, said Smith.

They are looking for a suspect who is a black male, age 25 to 30, about 5 foot 7 and 160 pounds.

Houston police are requesting that anyone with information call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.