CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Senior Police Officer Manuel Dominguez remains in ICU at Spohn Shoreline Hospital as he recovers after he was shot yesterday at the Water Colors Apartments.
Mayor Paulette Guajardo provided an update on officer Dominguez in our noon broadcast.
"We're very saddened to hear the news of that terrible incident yesterday. Sr. Officer Dominguez is in the ICU and we know he is in stable condition. That is the extent of what we know," Guajardo said on KRIS 6 News at Noon. "We ask everybody for their prayers for his family and his recovery, but I know he is in ICU and we’re keeping close contact with Chief Markle regarding his situation."
The mayor described her pride for all CCPD officers and particularly Dominguez.
"He's a 20-year veteran of the Corpus Christi Police Department and we’re very proud to have him," she said. "I believe right now they are just asking for privacy and they (his family) are with him at the hospital and that’s as much as we know at this point now."
The work the local police department provides to the community was praised by Guajardo.
"It’s just unbelievable. We always say our police officers are our front line and they really are. It takes a very courageous person because they never know what they are going to encounter," she said.
"Their jobs are never routine. They don’t know what they are going to encounter or when. They are our heroes, they are literally our heroes and I have the utmost appreciation for every police officer. I’ve been on ridealongs and even then when you see what they encounter it’s unbelievable. They are very courageous people, so we always keep them in our prayers because every single time they go out on a shift they are risking their lives. They are our heroes. End of story."
Dominguez's recovery comes as police continue their search for the man who they say shot Dominguez.
The U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward, up to $10,000, for the arrest of Joshua Powell. Corpus Christi Crime Stoppers have also said they would offer a separate $10,000 reward for anonymous tips. CCPD says that these rewards are separate and based on which agency makes the arrest.
Powell is to be considered armed and dangerous. If you see Powell, please call 911 immediately.
A blue alert was issued Wednesday night for Powell, 20, the suspect at large in the shooting of Dominguez.
Powell is described as a 20-year-old black man last seen driving a green 1999 Buick Regal. He is described as 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighing about 155 pounds.
He has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a dark shirt and khaki pants.
Powell is wearing dreadlocks and has tattoos on his left arm.
Corpus Christi police say that Powell shot Dominguez multiple times after he answered a call at about 2:14 p.m. in an incident at a southside apartment complex.
Dominguez is a 20-year veteran of the department.
Dominguez was responding to a “disturbance in progress” at the Water Color Apartments, formerly known as Marbella Apartments, on the 5900 block of Weber Road. Police say a man came outside of the apartment and started shooting.
Police Chief Mike Markle said Dominguez was shot multiple times inside of the apartment and was rushed to the hospital with what he called "quite severe injuries."
“We have all hands on deck right now looking for the suspect, and that’s going to go on until we find him,” Markle said Wednesday.
Police are also seeking Powell in connection to assaulting his pregnant former girlfriend in May 2020, according to the Nueces County District Attorney's Office and the Corpus Christi Police Department. A grand jury on Thursday indicted him on a felony assault charge related to that incident.
Powell was remembered by former classmates at Ray High School when Powell was a freshman in 2015-16.
"I wasn't personally close with him in all honesty so I wouldn't really be able to provide much about him," said Brendan Clements, who was a junior at Ray at the time. "All I remember is that he was a really funny, nice kid that seemed like he had his head on his shoulders. He was in the same graduating class as my little brother but other than that I didn't have any connections with him outside of the class."
Police say they hope everyone in the surrounding neighborhoods is on the lookout for the suspect.
"If somebody sees something suspicious, no matter what, give us a call," Markle said. "We’d rather have too much information than not enough.”
Corpus Christi Independent School District placed two schools in the southside area near the shooting, Carroll High School and Kostoryz Elementary, under lockout shortly after the incident. That meant no one could enter or leave the facilities.
That was lifted later in the afternoon.
Stay tuned to KRIS 6 News for the latest updates on this developing story.
