What began as a pre-dawn shooting call on Galveston’s far West End turned into a chaotic chase that ended in a roadside ditch and a death, according to police.
Early Thursday morning, Galveston officers responding to a reported shooting at a home in the 21800 block of Lampasas Drive found a man bleeding on the front porch, authorities said. A second person was discovered on a rear porch, where officers and medics performed life-saving measures before that individual was taken to the University of Texas Medical Branch. Officials have not released that person’s condition.
As officers were working the scene, a suspect drove away in a maroon pickup, police said. Officers pursued the truck along FM 3005, and the chase ended near Jamaica Beach when the vehicle left the roadway and ran into a ditch.
According to Click2Houston, officers first tried to pull the pickup over near FM 3005 and Salt Cedar Drive, but the driver did not stop. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers then joined the pursuit. Police said officers deployed stop sticks that damaged the truck’s tires while a DPS helicopter tracked the vehicle from above. When officers approached the crashed pickup, they found the driver with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities told the station. Galveston EMS took the driver to UTMB, where he was later pronounced dead.
West End Roadways Have Seen Similar Pursuits
The stretch of FM 3005 has seen dangerous chases before. The City of Galveston detailed a multi-agency pursuit on the west end in May 2025, and the Houston Chronicle reported a 2019 chase on FM 3005 that left an officer critically injured, a reminder of how quickly pursuits along the causeway corridor can escalate.
Investigations Under Way
The Galveston Police Department Criminal Investigation Division is leading the probe into the shooting, while the Texas Rangers are conducting a separate investigation into the pursuit, authorities told Click2Houston. Police have not released the names of those involved or any possible motive, and said the investigation remains active.
