A Texas gunman who called himself a “sovereign citizen” not bound by US laws was killed in a shootout with cops while livestreaming on Facebook.
Patrick Hurst, 47, told Harris County deputies who pulled him over for an expired registration and busted tailgate in Houston on Sunday that he would not comply with their orders because he was a member of the extremist movement that doesn’t accept the legitimacy of government institutions.
He drove off soon after cops learned he had a possible open out-of-county felony warrant for evading police before he was stopped with spike strips.
Hurst then streamed on Facebook Live as he pulled a handgun and jumped out of his car to confront the pursuing officers — getting killed after firing first at the deputies, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
A bystander buying groceries nearby was also injured and a private school bus was riddled with bullets, thankfully while no kids were onboard.
“This could have gone a lot differently had he just complied,” Gonzalez said.
Hurst’s sister, Angela Washington, told KTRK that she had also been on the phone with her brother and following his livestream before the gunshots rang out.
She recalled trying to talk her brother down, telling him, “Don’t do it.”
“What we saw [Sunday], I feel like, was a mental breakdown,” she said of her brother, who had battled mental health issues in the past.
The sheriff suggested it was just the latest confrontation with a member of the “Sovereign Citizens Movement,” which is described by the Anti-Defamation League as an extremist anti-government faction.
“Many times, sovereign individuals … it does show that these situations do have a chance to turn violent,” Gonzalez said.
“Under their belief, they are not under the authority of federal government or law enforcement.”
However, Hurst’s sister said the family had never heard her brother describe himself as a member of the movement or expressing extremist views.
“He doesn’t hate the police,” Washington told the station, saying she didn’t even know her brother owned a gun until Sunday.
“He was always doing God’s work. He was always doing our father’s business,” the sister said. “That’s the honest to God’s truth. So this was a big shock.”
