Hausknecht murder suspect kills self in confrontation with Houston Police
08/03/2018 9:41 am PDT
via KIAH:
HOUSTON -- (KIAH) -- Joseph Pappas, the man accused of fatally shooting renowned cardiologist Dr. Mark Hausknecht in the Texas Medical Center, committed suicide Friday while being pursued by officers in a southwest Houston neighborhood.
Pappas had evaded the Houston Police Department for more than two weeks before a witness reported spotting a suspicious person about 9:25 a.m. The individual later confirmed it was Pappas after finding his discarded wallet.
Pappas was armed with a revolver and wearing a bulletproof vest when officers cornered him moments later in an area near Bob White and Ariel streets, HPD Chief Art Acevedo said.
The chief said the officers demanded Pappas reveal his right hand, but the suspect refused until pulling the gun out and drawing it on himself. Paramedics pronounced Pappas dead at the scene.
The 65-year-old suspect is a trained marksman with about 30 years of experience as a Harris County constable. The suspect's mother was a patient of Hausknecht who died during surgery about 20 years ago, according to investigators.
Acevedo said detectives found an extensive intelligence file about Hausknecht and a hit list including other names inside the suspect's home.
It's been nearly two weeks since Hausknecht was gunned down while riding his bike to work in the Texas Medical Center. Investigators said the alleged gunman rode closely behind the victim before firing at least three times, hitting Hausknecht, and then riding off into a nearby residential area. The victim was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital with fatal gunshot wounds to the head, torso and upper left arm.
Hausknecht was a specialist at the DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center. He was a longtime Houston Methodist-affiliated physician with nearly four decades of medical experience, hospital officials said. News of his death made national headlines and prompted heartfelt responses from the medical community, other local hospitals and former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, the doctor's former patient.
