JEFFERSON COUNTY, Texas — The armed shooter who ran from police and prompted a shelter-in-place and manhunt in Kountze late Saturday night and early Sunday morning is now in custody.
Michael John Ritsema, 44, is charged with aggravated assault on a public servant and evading arrest in a motor vehicle, with bonds totaling $40,000. He is currently on a mental health hold.
Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies were doing a welfare check for a veteran who reportedly shot his dog when he shot at deputies three or four times, law enforcement on scene said.
The call came in to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office around 12 a.m. Sunday, June 23, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Major Dante Miller said. Deputies arriving at the scene learned the man, later identified as Ritsema, had already discharged a firearm at least once and was trying to leave the property. The deputies tried to flag the man down, but he fled in a vehicle, Miller said.
The person who reported the mental health welfare check told law enforcement that the suspect was intoxicated.
Ritsema drove into Hardin County, firing three shots toward police on Highway 326, Miller said. Texas DPS, Kountze Police and the Hardin County Sheriff's Office all joined in the pursuit.
Law enforcement spiked his tires, disabling his vehicle on Williford Road in Kountze. Ritsema pulled into a church parking lot and ran, firing another shot at deputies, Miller said.
The multiple law enforcement agencies responding set up a perimeter and called in the Jefferson County SWAT team. The search team found Ritsema and took him into custody around 4:30 a.m.
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