UPDATED August 29, 2015 3:20 p.m. PT
Police in Harris County, Texas have arrested a 30-year-old man believed to be the "cold-blooded" killer who shot a Texas sheriff's deputy from behind at a gas station Friday night.
Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said the suspect, Shannon J. Miles, has been charged with capital murder for the "senseless and cowardly act."
"Our assumption is he was a target because he wore a uniform," Hickman said of the victim, Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth, during a press conference Saturday, adding that police do not believe Goforth and Miles had met before the shooting. Hickman described the ambush as unprovoked.
Goforth died after being shot multiple times from behind while pumping gas at a Chevron in northwest Houston. After Goforth, who was on duty, fell to the ground, the suspect approached the 47-year-old and continued to shoot him with a handgun before fleeing the scene.
Hickman called the shooting a "cold-blooded," "execution-style killing."
Deputy Darren Goforth: E.O.W. 8/28/2015 #ThinBlueLine @SheriffHickman #HouNews pic.twitter.com/cYtH1nCRAK— HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) August 29, 2015
CORRECTED Mugshot of Defendant Shannon J. Miles #HouNews #DarrenGoforth #ThinBlueLine pic.twitter.com/bzKJ1nz07D— HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) August 29, 2015
A makeshift memorial for the 10-year veteran emerged Saturday at the gas station where he died. Mourners left signs, flowers, a cup of coffee and even a small toy police officer.
Many also offered their condolences on social media, using the hashtag #BlueLivesMatter, a play on the #BlackLivesMatter rallying cry that has been prevalent online following a spate of killings of black men and boys by police.
Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson denounced "open warfare on law enforcement" during a press conference Saturday.
"What happened last night is an assault on the very fabric of society, it is not anything we can tolerate," she said. "We need to bring this killer to justice."