BLUE ALERT: Statewide manhunt in Texas for suspect accused of shooting officer

A Hall County Texas statewide manhunt is underway for a man who is wanted for shooting a police officer late Thursday night. A Texas Blue Alert was issued for Seth Altman, 33, who allegedly shot an officer in Memphis, about 80 miles southeast of Amarillo, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The injured officer was shot multiple times and flown to the hospital.

There is no word on the officer’s condition. Altman is 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighs about 220 pounds and has red hair and blue eyes. Altman was last seen wearing a blue t-shirt with blue jeans. Altman is considered to be armed and dangerous. If you see Altman, call 911 immediately, do not approach him. A Blue Alert is issued for suspects accused of killing or seriously injuring a law enforcement officer.

In July 2024, Hurricane Beryl was blamed for killing several people in Texas and at least one person in Louisiana. Power started to come back for some of the millions of homes and businesses left in the dark when Beryl slammed into the Houston area, while the weakened storm moved east, spawning suspected tornadoes and causing more damage. After a peak of more than 2.7 million customers around Houston without power, the numbers improved to more than 2.3 million homes and businesses lacking electricity.

The lack of cooling to people’s homes, downed power lines, and non-functioning traffic lights led officials to ask residents to stay home if possible.

Houstonians need to know the officials are working around the clock so they will be safe, urging residents to also know the dangers of high water, to stay hydrated, and to check on their neighbors. Beryl later weakened into a tropical depression and the weather service said it was about 95 miles north of Shreveport, Louisiana, moving northeast with maximum sustained wind speeds near 30 mph. Beryl’s strength was not expected to change much in the next day or two.

While weakened, Beryl threatened to unleash more harsh weather over several other states. The storm was expected to bring heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding from the lower and mid-Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes. A flood watch was in effect for parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan and tornadoes were possible across parts of the Mid-South.

A few tornadoes were possible in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Beryl still packed a punch, and the weather service confirmed that tornadoes had been spotted in northeastern Louisiana. A woman was killed in the Benton area when a tree fell on her home. Dozens of tornado warnings were issued in Louisiana and Arkansas. Texas state and local officials warned it could take several days to fully restore power after Beryl came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane, toppled 10 transmission lines, and knocked down trees that took down power lines.

Beryl tore a deadly path of destruction through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean but its winds and rains still knocked down hundreds of trees that had already been teetering in water-saturated earth, and strand dozens of cars on flooded roadways.

Texas is not past any difficult conditions. CenterPoint Energy was bringing thousands of additional workers to restore power, with top priorities including nursing homes and assisted living centers. At least two people were killed when trees fell on homes in Texas, and a third person was killed when he was trapped in floodwaters under a highway overpass.

The loss of power was an all-too familiar experience for Houston. Powerful storms had just ripped through the area in May 2024, killing eight people, leaving nearly 1 million without power and flooding numerous streets. Houston residents without power after Beryl were doing their best. They are struggling to have food and losing that food would be difficult.

Power crews were working to restore service as quickly as possible, an urgent priority for homes also left without air conditioning in the middle of summer. Temperatures in the 90s were expected. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a heat advisory that said the area heat index could reach 105 degrees. Texas was opening cooling centers as well as food and water distribution centers.

Beryl’s rains pounded Houston and other areas of the coast, reclosing streets in neighborhoods that had already been washed out by previous storms.

Houston officials reported at least 25 water rescues, mostly for people with vehicles stuck in floodwaters. Many streets and neighborhoods throughout Houston were littered with fallen branches and other debris. The buzz of chainsaws filled the air as residents chopped up knocked-down trees and branches that had blocked streets and sidewalks. Flooding could last for days as rain continued to fall on already saturated ground.

President Joe Biden was getting regular updates on the storm and called the Houston mayor. Biden told the mayor his administration will make sure Texans have the resources they need to get through the storm and recovery. Several companies with refineries or industrial plants in the area reported that the power disruptions necessitated the flaring of gases at the facilities.

The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. In Jamaica, island residents will have to contend with food shortages after Beryl destroyed over $6.4 million in crops and supporting infrastructure. In September 2020, the Dallas County Health Department is reporting 11 more deaths and 1,181 additional cases of covid.

Of the 1,181 cases reported, 967 came from backlog with 24 cases coming from April 2020, 139 from May 2020, 399 from June 2020, 301 from July 2020, 21 from August 2020, and 83 from early September 2020.

The provisional 7-day average daily new confirmed and probable cases by date of test collection for CDC week 38 was 296, an increase from the previous daily average of 258 for CDC week 37. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for covid has also increased and remains high with 11.9% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 38. A provisional total of 225 confirmed and probable covid cases were diagnosed in school-aged children aged 5 to 17 during CDC week 38, an increase from the previous week for this age group.

The percentage of cases occurring in young adults aged 18 to 22 has increased to 14% for the month of September. The county has now accumulated 80,605 cases of covid since testing began in March 2020. With 72,214 estimated recoveries being reported by Texas, there are an estimated 7,375 active cases in Dallas County. There have been 1,016 confirmed deaths attributed in the county to covid, which is now the third leading cause of death in the county behind diseases of the heart and cancers.

Since March 20th 2020, the date of the first reported covid related death in Dallas County, the county has averaged 5.3 deaths per day. In August 2020, the Dallas County Health Department in Texas reported 4 more confirmed covid deaths along with 399 new cases with an increase in the rolling 7-day average. The 399 cases included 44 from a state backlog, leaving 355 as new cases.

The backlogged cases were 16 from April 2020, 26 from May 2020, and 2 from June 2020. The cases raised the Dallas County’s 7-day average from 1,502 cases per day to 1,525 cases per day. The backlog of cases being released by the state has increased those averages. The overall trend is a gradual decline. If people maintain community resolve to wear masks, maintain six-foot distancing, use good hand hygiene, forgo unnecessary trips, and forgo any activities around people who are not wearing a mask 100% of the time, the numbers will improve, less people get sick, more businesses stay open, more activities become permissible, and kids getting back to school sooner.

Counties should expect to have several more days of discovered backlogged cases before the reporting normalizes. Of the backlogged cases, the patients did receive the results of their covid test, but that information was lost in the state’s system and no tracing was done.

Private labs have made changes to fix lags in reporting and that the accounting of the numbers being reported by Texas are accurate.

The Dallas County has now accumulated 66,464 covid cases since testing began in March 2020. With an estimated 48,153 recoveries being reported by Texas, there are also an estimated 17,467 active cases in Dallas County. There have been 843 confirmed deaths attributed in the Dallas County to covid, which is now the third leading cause of death in the county behind diseases of the heart and cancers.

Since March 20th 2020, the date of the first reported covid related death in Dallas County, the county has averaged 5.5 deaths per day. The Dallas County Health Department is reporting 13 more covid deaths Thursday August 13th 2020 along with 641 new covid cases with an increase in the 7-day and 14-day averages. The 641 new covid cases raised the county’s 7-day average to 508 cases per day, the 14-day average climbed to 511 cases per day.

There were still 535 people in Dallas in acute care being treated for covid. And over the same 24-hour period there were 607 ER visits in the county for people reporting covid symptoms. The increase in ER visits represents around 26% of all emergency department visits in the county and an increase of more than 100 visits over the previous day. Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) is also recommending parents get their children immunized before they return to school.

DCHHS warns the immunization clinics will be by appointment only and that no walk-ins will be accepted.

DCHHS has seven clinics open with modified hours to help parents kick off the new 2020-2021 school year. It is so important to make sure children are vaccinated on time to ensure their long-term health. Vaccinations also help protect the health of classmates, friends, relatives, and others in the community. During these unprecedented times, it is so important to get children any needed vaccines before they return to school.

Due to covid, immunization clinic hours have been adjusted. Make an appointment with any of the seven immunizations clinic locations. The cost for Texas Vaccine for Children (TVFC) eligible immunizations is $10 for the child’s first visit and $5 for returning patients. Waivers are granted to families in need.