Last Saturday morning officers and civilians had a shootout in East Montgomery County, but everybody walked away with no injuries. The shots were fired during a competition at Battleground Paintball on Old Houston Road, as part of the 2009 Texas Police Games, which were based in Conroe.
Deputy Hermann Hoffschneider of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department was part of the competition and said it was a good way to meet fellow officers.
“We’ve been doing paintball for over ten years,” Hoffschneider said, “It’s one of my favorite events because we get to shoot fellow officers.”
The deputy said he was looking forward to next year and hoped more officers participated in the paintball event.
Trevor Seeberger, a teen patron of Battleground Paintball, was one of those competing against the officers. Around a year after “getting serious” about the sport, with around $1,000 invested, Seeberger was glad to have some professional competition.
Another young patron, Jermane Smith said he “loved” participating on Saturday.
“I shot a cop and I can live to tell a story about it,” he beamed. “I mean, that’s a good story for my children one day.”
“That’s a good experience, right there, I’m pretty happy with myself today – I’m proud.”
Battleground Paintball owner Russell Head likened the sport to “playing army” as a child.
“You go out there, you run, you hide, shoot each other,” Head said, “Except it’s safe – you got your mask on, you don’t get shot in the face.”
