Update: Suspect was shot in face, injured officer thanks those who helped

BENCHLEY, Texas (KBTX) - The Bryan man accused of shooting two law enforcement officers in a 12-hour period is now in the hospital being treated for a gunshot wound to the face prior to his arrest in the Benchley area Friday afternoon.

Joshua Ryan Herrin, 44, was found in an area west of the Aggie Bonfire site Friday afternoon in Robertson County following a 3-hour manhunt.

Just before noon, a Brazos County deputy spotted Herrin in a stolen 2004 Mustang along OSR and he eventually bailed from the vehicle and took off running into a rural area. At some point in the ordeal in Benchley, the deputy was struck in the arm by gunfire but survived. We’re told she’s now recovering at a hospital and her condition is stable.

Bryan police say during the manhunt, officers returned gunfire and struck Herrin.

Details of where exactly Herrin was found and how his injuries occurred were not immediately available, but multiple law enforcement agencies swarmed the Benchley area to help with the manhunt until he was taken into custody.

Prior to his arrest, Herrin was the focus of an area-wide search following the shooting of a Bryan police officer twice Thursday night near Wayside Drive and Avondale Avenue.

According to police, the officer attempted to stop Herrin who was driving a pickup truck, and at some point, police say Herrin jumped out of the truck and took off running while firing several shots at the officer who was struck once in the arm and once in the leg by gunfire. The officer, who has not been identified, was taken to a hospital, and his condition is listed as stable.

In a post on Facebook on Saturday, the officer thanked his fellow lawmen and women for help. He also thanked his fiance who was working as a dispatcher when he was injured. “I’m healing in the hospital and should be released here soon,” he wrote.

Police say Herrin then stole the officer’s patrol car and it was later found abandoned on Fountain Avenue near Finfeather Road. Police and other people with knowledge of the case say Herrin then broke into an auto body shop and stole the Ford Mustang and a gun from inside the business.

Before he was found in the Benchley area, officers and SWAT members responded to a home on Fairway Drive in Bryan to search for the suspect. KBTX sources say one of Herrin’s family members lives on that street.

According to online jail records, Herrin has been booked into the Brazos County Detention Center nearly 20 times since 1995. His criminal history includes charges of arson, aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, vehicle burglaries, home burglary, theft, and fleeing a police officer.

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