Texas Deputy Shot Dead By His Own Brother, Who Is Also A Cop

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(Chron) A Stagecoach Police Department officer was arrested Saturday in the fatal shooting of his brother, a Harris County sheriff's deputy, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

Robert Lee, a 35-year law enforcement veteran who previously worked for the Houston Police Department, initially told authorities that he shot someone who broke into his home in Stagecoach Farms around 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Investigators later learned that the victim was 57-year-old Rocky Lee - and that it may not have been a break-in. The slain deputy was a 26-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff's Office and worked at the jail at 1200 Baker Street, law enforcement officials said.

He was shot multiple times in the bathroom of the home, which is near the intersection of Westward Ho and Singletree in Stagecoach Farms, about 9 miles south of Magnolia.

"The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting are under investigation," Montgomery County Sheriff's Office spokesman Scott Spencer said late Friday. "We don't believe there was a burglary at the residence."

After the shooting, Robert Lee was treated for high blood pressure at the scene and held overnight before he was charged.

Though he is accused of killing a law enforcement officer - which is normally a capital crime - he was not charged with capital murder because the victim was not acting in his official duty at the time.

As authorities worked to untangle the events leading up to the shooting Friday evening, David Cuevas, president of the Harris County Deputies Organization, offered condolences.

"At this point we're still trying to gather more information as to the circumstances surrounding the shooting, but our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time," he said. "Any loss to the Harris County Sheriff's Office family is a loss to all of us."

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez wrote on Twitter Friday that "our hearts are broken with the loss of Deputy Lee."

"He proudly served our county for many years," Gonzalez wrote. "Please keep him in and his family in your thoughts and prayers, as well as the many friends and co-workers gained over the years."

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