Suspect who shot at police officer captured

SEALY, TX (KTRK) -- A massive manhunt is over for a man accused of opening fire on a Sealy police officer. It all started with a traffic stop in Sealy just after 3:30am and ended hours later, at a Super 8 Motel in Wharton.

Whether on horseback, or by car, law enforcement officers from around Sealy spent all morning searching for Travis Bluntson before he was finally located in a Wharton area motel where surveillance video shows he was arrested without fanfare.

DPS Trooper Erik Burse said, "He was held up in a Super 8 Motel in Wharton, Texas. When they burst in on the room, he gave up, no resistance at all."

But what ended peacefully certainly didn't begin that way. Just after 3:30am, law enforcement tried to stop Bluntson for speeding. Instead, he allegedly fired shots at the officer, hitting his patrol car. Nearby, business operators took cover.

Travel stop worker Charles Strozier said, "Simple traffic stop, the guy started shooting at the cop that stopped him. They ordered her to lock this place down."

Bluntson had already crashed the car he was driving. Authorities speculate he most likely got a ride to Wharton. They said it was good investigating and modern technology that led them to the Super 8 Motel.

"I think we might have used some electronics, as far as what that person may have had as a cell phone or a computer or something like that, which we can always go back and find out where you're at," Trooper Burse explained.

Bluntson will face charges of attempted capital murder of a police officer and neighbors say they're relieved he's caught.

Those who live in the area said they were afraid for their safety during the manhunt. The officer who was shot at suffered only minor injuries.

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