Daughter of slain officer Richard Houston stuns mourners with message of forgiveness: 'Hoping and praying'

The daughter of fallen Texas police officer Richard Houston stunned mourners at her father's funeral on Thursday when she shared a message of forgiveness for the man who killed her father.

Houston, a 21-year veteran of the Mesquite Police Department who succumbed to gunshot wounds last week, left behind a wife and three children, including his 18-year-old daughter, Shelby Houston.

"I remember having conversations with my dad about him losing friends and officers in the line of duty," Shelby Houston began in her speech at the funeral that was live-streamed on Facebook. "I have heard all the stories you can think of, but I always had such a hard time with how the suspect is dealt with. Not that I didn't think there should be justice served, but my heart always ached for those who don't know Jesus — their actions being a reflection of that." 

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She continued: "I was always told that I would feel differently if it happened to me, but as it happened to my own father, I think I still feel the same."

Shooting suspect Jamie Jaramillo shot and fatally wounded Houston last week while the officer responded to a disturbance call involving Jaramillio, his wife, their daughter and his mistress.

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When Houston arrived, Jaramillo pulled out a gun and, for an unknown reason, engaged him in an exchange of gunfire, shooting the officer twice, police said. Jaramillo then shot himself in the head, according to police documents on and obtained by FOX4 Dallas-Fort Worth.

Shelby Houston said during her Thursday speech that while she has felt "anger, sadness, grief and confusion," and part of her wishes she could "despise" the man who killed her father, she can't get her heart "to hate him."

"All I can do is find myself hoping and praying for this man to truly know Jesus," she said. "I thought this might change if the man continued to live, but when I heard the news that he was in stable condition, part of me was relieved. My prayer is that someday down the road, I get to spend some time with the man who shot my father — not to scream at him, not to yell at him, not to scold him — but to simply to tell him about Jesus."

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Over the course of his career, Houston served in the Mesquite PD Operations Bureau as a patrol officer, on the SWAT Team for more than 10 years and in the department's Criminal Investigations Unit handling burglary and theft, homeland security and juvenile/gang cases. He earned 48 Letters of Commendation, two awards for saving lives, one police commendation bar and was named Citizens Police Academy Officer of the Month in August 2018.

Jaramillo has been charged with the capital murder of a peace officer.

Fox News' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.