The suspect charged with shooting Texas Sheriff's Deputy Darren H. Goforth at a gas station in Houston on Friday night was arraigned in court Monday morning, but he did not enter a plea.

Shannon J. Miles, 30, has been accused of fatally shooting the 47-year-old deputy at a gas station in northwest Harris County around 8:30 p.m. Friday. Police say Miles opened fire and shot Goforth in the back of the head as he was pumping gas.

"He was pumping gas into his vehicle and the male suspect came up behind him and shot the deputy multiple times," Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland told the Houston Chronicle. "The deputy fell to ground. The suspect came over and shot the deputy again multiple times as he lay on the ground."

In total, Goforth was shot 15 times and pronounced dead on the scene.

"He unloaded the entire weapon into Deputy Goforth," said Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson, according to NBC News.

Officials say Miles has a criminal record of minor misdemeanor arrests dating back to 2005, but no felony history. The suspect's mother, however, told NBC affiliate KPRC that her son is innocent, and that she and he had been out shopping at the time of the shooting.

Investigators say the motive remains unclear, however officials believe the gunman shot Goforth simply because he was wearing a uniform.

Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman also linked the incident to the Black Lives Matter campaign, based on the facts that the suspect is black and the victim was a white officer. According to Hickman, the protest movement has projected "very dangerous national rhetoric" against law enforcement.

"When rhetoric ramps up to the point where cold-blooded assassination has happened, this rhetoric has gotten out of control," he said, reports USA Today. "We heard 'black lives matter.' All lives matter. Well, cops' lives matter too, so why don't we drop the qualifier and say 'lives matter' and take that to the bank."

Likewise, Anderson said, "It is time for the silent majority in this country to support law enforcement. There are a few bad apples in any profession. That does not mean there should be open warfare declared on law enforcement."