Houston police use robotic arm to remove gunman from bulldozed house

Armoured earthmover used to knock down sections of home in which assailant was hiding

Police officers at the scene where a gunman barricaded himself in a home in north-east Harris County, Houston. AP

Police in Houston have used a bulldozer to knock down sections of a house after a suspected gunman allegedly shot three officers and took refuge in the building.

The siege ended when the suspect surrendered and was filmed clinging to the robotic arm of the bulldozer, which extracted him from the building's upper floors.

Green dots – laser sights of police weapons – could be seen tracking him on the robotic arm as he was pulled from the house.

The standoff began after two officers were reportedly shot by the gunman during a traffic stop while a third was shot in pursuit hours later.

Local authorities said there was a $20,000 reward for anyone who could provide information leading to his arrest.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez identified Terran Green as the suspected gunman and said the officers who had been shot were in stable condition in hospital.

“Enroute to the 11500 blk of Silhouette Ridge, near Summercreek High School. Preliminary: Suspect Green possibly barricaded at the location. Shots were fired; two law enforcement officers shot,” Mr Gonzalez wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Local media showed video footage from the scene where the armoured bulldozer knocked down the front sections of the house where the gunman was believed to be hiding.

An armoured police vehicle was seen nearby, as well as a small drone hovering around the house.

Police said a man in the house had fired on officers as they called on him to surrender.

Local Fox News correspondent Matthew Seedorf said there was a "massive" police presence in the area.

"All roads are blocked off within about a half mile of where it’s believed Terran Green has barricaded himself inside a home," he wrote on X.