ANGELINA COUNTY, Texas (KTRE) – A Rusk man is in jail after he was shot during a hostage situation Monday night in Angelina County. Lufkin Police released bodycam footage from the shooting.

According to a Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office press release, deputies responded to an aggravated assault in the area of County Road 2206. When they arrived, they were told by a victim that the suspect, Timothy Gorko, 37, was leaving in a vehicle from the neighbor’s property. According to Lufkin Police, Gorko had asked the neighbor for a ride and the neighbor was not aware Gorko had a gun. Deputies tried to stop the vehicle and a pursuit began.

During the pursuit, the sheriff’s office received a 911 call from inside the vehicle. The caller said he was being held at gunpoint and Gorko would not let him stop the vehicle. The pursuit went through Rusk and south on U.S. 69. During the pursuit, Gorko called 911 numerous times and made demands and threats to kill the victim, according to the Cherokee County press release.

DPS trooper and Angelina County Sheriff’s Office deputies used tire deflation devices to bring the vehicle to a stop near the community of Pollok in Angelina County. At that time, law enforcement officers and Cherokee County deputies approached the vehicle and saw Gorko pointing a handgun toward the hostage.

Lufkin police video bodycam video shows officers shout commands to “drop the gun,” multiple times before Lufkin police fired through the vehicle’s rear glass.

According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Gorko was struck by officer gunfire several times and removed from the vehicle.

The body camera video then appears to show Gorko being pulled from the car and officers removing a pistol from the front passenger seat. The hostage was not harmed.

Gorko was treated at a Lufkin hospital and released to the custody of the Cherokee County Jail. He is charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance, and evading arrest and detention with a vehicle. Gorko was in possession of methamphetamine at the time of his arrest. Lufkin PD reports Gorko has a lengthy criminal history with numerous felony charges and is a registered sex offender.

“This investigation is in its early stages and will be investigated by the Texas Rangers as is our standard policy” according to the Lufkin Police press release.

Written by KTRE Digital Media Staff