Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared in a statement that " heinous and deliberate crimes against law enforcement " would not be tolerated . Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson said she felt it was time for the silent majority to come out and support law enforcement . She also said , " There are a few bad apples in every profession , that does not mean that there should be open warfare declared on law enforcement . " Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman denounced the shooting as " senseless and cowardly " and stated that while investigators were not aware of a motive at the moment , it appeared that Goforth was targeted " because he wore a uniform . " The shooting drew comparisons to the shooting deaths of two officers with the New York City Police Department , which occurred the year before . The shooting also brought criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement , alleging that they were responsible for inspiring the attack . Hickman stated , " We 've heard ' black lives matter . ' All lives matter . Well , cops ' lives matter , too . So why do n't we just drop the qualifier and just say ' lives matter , ' and take that to the bank . " Texas State Representative Garnet Coleman ( D ) criticized Hickman and Anderson for " politicizing a death that , I do n't know that anyone knows what was in the mind of the shooter . " Activist DeRay Mckesson tweeted that it was " sad that some have chosen to politicize this tragedy by falsely attributing the officer 's death to a movement seeking to end violence . " In the aftermath of the shooting , Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz stated that U.S. President Barack Obama and officials in the Obama administration had partial moral responsibility for Goforth 's death . Cruz blamed what he labeled as efforts to " vilify law enforcement " and stated that Obama had remained " silent " on the murder . Cruz 's comments brought criticism from commentators in progressive publications such as '' Mother Jones '' and '' The Texas Observer '' , while conservative publications such as '' Right Wing News '' expressed support for Cruz
the shooting deaths
2014 killings of NYPD officers
Shooting of Darren Goforth