Roll of Honor
Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr.
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Sammie Childress was shot and killed execution-style after being abducted by two suspects on Texas Highway 97. The suspects abducted Deputy Childress for the purpose of using his uniform and patrol car to commit a bank robbery. The suspects saw Deputy Childress driving by and began to flash their lights at him. When he stopped, the two suspects displayed their guns, made Deputy Childress disrobe, handcuffed him, and placed him in the trunk of his patrol car. One of the men then put on part of his uniform, drove to a bank on U.S. 87, and robbed it at 11:50 a.m. After the robbery, the suspects returned to their vehicle, at which time the suspect opened the trunk and shot Deputy Childress in the neck. The suspects drove away but returned moments later to wipe the patrol car clean of fingerprints. The suspect opened the trunk again and, finding that Deputy Childress was still alive, shot him in the neck a second time, killing him instantly. The suspects were both eventually apprehended. The shooter was sentenced to death, and the other suspect, the shooter's nephew, was sentenced to 25 years. On May 3, 2017, the shooter's death sentence was commuted to life. The shooter died in prison in 2023. Deputy Childress had served with the Wilson County Sheriff's Office for three years. He was survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, six grandchildren, his father, and four siblings. One of his sons also served with the Wilson County Sheriff's Office.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, six grandchildren, his father, and four siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-74AFCD08- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Childress gave the Wilson County Sheriff's Office 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Floresville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Childress.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr. is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr. Compares
Offender Outcome
robbery
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr. is highlighted in Nov.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr. was killed by handgun.