# violence
A Texas police officer was shot and killed in a "senseless act of violence" during a "disturbance" outside a grocery store on Friday.
The officer, identified as Richard Houston, was among those responding to a disturbance around 1:40 p.m. Friday when he was shot multiple times, the Mesquite Police Department said on its Facebook page. The officer was pronounced dead at Baylor Hospital at 2:11 p.m., the department said.
The suspect was shot during an argument, the statement said.
The accused shooter is in critical condition at a local hospital, according to WFAA.
It was not immediately clear who fired first.
Witnesses told the station they were shocked by the shooting.