An off-duty New Orleans police officer was slain in Texas by armed men trying to rob diners at a restaurant, authorities said Sunday.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson told reporters that one of two men shot outside the Houston restaurant was Officer Everett Briscoe, a 13-year veteran of the department.

“He was a great officer, a great friend,” Ferguson said. “That’s the kind of person he is — if you were in need, he’d give you the clothes off his back.”

Police say Briscoe was dining in the patio area of the Grotto Ristorante on Saturday afternoon when two men armed with guns demanded diners hand over belongings.

Patrons were cooperating with the robbers, witnesses told police, until one of the gunmen fired shots before they fled. One man was critically wounded by the gunfire, and Briscoe was killed.

Houston Police Superintendent Troy Finner said the suspects fled the restaurant with nothing.

No arrests had been reported Sunday afternoon.