Texas Sheriff: Gunman's Planned Ambush of Deputies Thwarted when Rifle Jams

A suspect in black and hiding in the woods allegedly opened fire on Harris County sheriff's deputies responding to a call in Humble, but the ambush suddenly stopped when his weapon jammed.

By Mitchell Willetts

Source Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Sept. 24, 2025

2 min read

What to know

A 47-year-old gunman dressed in black tried to ambush Harris County sheriff's deputies in Humble on Tuesday, but the attack failed when his rifle jammed.
Deputies pursued and arrested the suspect, who was found with "numerous amounts of ammunition" and had set up a chair in the woods.
No deputies were injured during the incident, and investigators are trying to determine a motive.

A gunman dressed in black who had set up a chair in the woods (top photo) allegedly shot at Harris County sheriff's deputies in Humble on Tuesday. But his planned ambush suddenly stopped when his weapon (bottom photo) jammed before anyone was struck by gunfire, according to the agency.

A man with a rifle and plenty of ammunition waited in the woods to shoot deputies, but his planned ambush fell apart when his gun jammed, Texas authorities say.

Deputies responded to a call in Humble early on Tuesday, Sept. 23, and came under fire as they arrived, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a post on X.

The shooter, identified as 47-year-old Kenyon Levor Coleman, was opening fire with an “automatic rifle” – but the volley suddenly stopped when the rifle jammed and “Coleman was unable to clear it,” Gonzalez said.

He retreated further into the woods, but deputies pursued and arrested him, the sheriff said.

Coleman was prepared for a fight, Gonzalez said, as he was dressed in all black, had plenty of ammo at the ready, and even set up what appears to be a beach or camping chair.

Coleman’s weapon jammed before he was able to hit anyone, according to Gonzalez.

“I thank God no deputies were hurt,” the sheriff said.

Coleman was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault of a police officer, officials said.

In the post, Gonzalez said it “appears as though the initial call for service was a possible fake/swatting call.” However, the sheriff’s office later said that a fake call received that day was actually unrelated to Coleman, KTRK reported.

McClatchy News reached out to authorities for clarification and did not immediately hear back.

Officials have not said what may have motivated the ambush.

Humble is a 20-mile drive northeast from downtown Houston.

__________________

Visit star-telegram.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.