Shots Fired at Texas State Senator’s Office

HOUSTON, Texas – Workers for Texas State Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston) were shocked to discover their office had been fired on during the overnight hours. No one was in the building at the time and no one has been reported to have been injured.

Police were called to the scene of the state senator’s district office in The Heights area of Houston (just northwest of downtown) on Thursday morning when staffers for the senator discovered bullet holes in the building. Officers told KHOU-11 in Houston that at least four shots had been fired into the building.

Damage to the facility was limited and no injuries were reported.

The incident is being investigated by both the Houston Police Department and Texas Rangers with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Senator Whitmire is the senior member of the Texas Senate. He has served as a state senator since 1983. Prior to his election to the senate, Whitmire served as a member of the Texas House where he was elected in 1973. He has served in the Texas Legislature for 43 years.

He currently serves as “Dean of the Texas Senate” and as chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee which has oversight over the Texas prison system. As a result of this service he has regularly received death threats.

The senator continues to serve on the Senate Administration, Business and Commerce, and Finance Committees.

Whitmire has come under scrutiny lately for attempting to have the accused killer of Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth moved quickly from the county jail to a state mental health facility after he was ruled incompetent to stand trial, Breitbart Texas’ Lana Shadwick reported.

Anthony Osso, the defense attorney for the accused killer, Shannon Miles, wrote in his motion to object, “Said intervention was without justification and any expedited transfer would be in violation of Shannon Miles’ right to due process and equal protection under the law.” He said the senator did not have the knowledge of the time needed by defense counsel to gather additional mental health information to be submitted with the transfer, Shadwick reported.

Miles allegedly killed Deputy Goforth by firing 15 rounds of ammunition from a handgun into the back and head of the deputy.

Bob Price is a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.