New details emerging after shootout in Newton County

TEXAS - Newton County Sheriff Billy Rowles has released new details following a standoff with numerous shots fired, many of which went into law enforcement vehicles, and one of which nearly hit Rowles. It began late Thursday afternoon and didn’t end until early Friday morning. Meanwhile, one man remains hospitalized at St Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont after undergoing surgery for at least one gunshot wound.

Deputies responded to a residence on County Road 3136 in the Gist Community in south Newton County on a report of two brothers involved in a disturbance. The first deputy on scene said one of the men came to the door and fired off several rounds, so he retreated for cover and called in backup.

Deputies from Jasper and Orange Counties along with state troopers and game wardens arrived shortly thereafter and they began reporting numerous gunshots between them and the two men.

Rowles said the men, armed with a shotgun and a .22 rifle, managed to get into a metal cargo container and that’s where they barricaded themselves during the duration of the standoff, often popping up through an opening on the top and firing rounds at officers.

Meanwhile, Rowles said as the bullets flew, one came through the windshield of his pickup truck and missed his head by about a foot. Rowles said his department’s patrol cars had 25-30 bullet holes in them, while Orange County Sheriff Jimmy Lane Mooney’s pickup truck sustained 13 bullet holes. Additionally, a tire on a Jasper County patrol car was hit.

Rowles said a Jasper County deputy went down with heat exhaustion, but he was able to recover and returned to the situation about 90 minutes later.

The location was the scene of three previous situations involving a standoff with shots fired involving the same people, but not as violent as Thursday’s incident.

Meanwhile, the names of the suspects have not yet been released.

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