Arlington Officer Shot Serving Saginaw Murder Warrant
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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - A police officer was shot Monday night near the University of Texas at Arlington campus while trying to serve a warrant on a suspect wanted in the weekend murder of a Saginaw teenager. That suspect was also hurt by return fire from officers.
It all started at around 10:30 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 400 block of Summit Avenue, near UTA Boulevard. Officers from Arlington, Saginaw and UTA approached an apartment unit and knocked on the door. Several minutes later, the suspect opened fire on authorities, striking one officer from Arlington.
The injured officer, Eddie Johnston, was then able to fire back, hitting the suspect. He was transported to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth and was released Tuesday afternoon.
Sgt. Vanessa Harrison said while everyone is optimistic the officer will return to full duty at some point, "It doesn't look like he'll be able to come back to work really soon, because he did sustain some pretty bad injuries."
Johnston has been with the department for three years.
In social media posts online, the Arlington Police Department said, "Thank you for the outpouring of community support and prayers that we have received!"
The suspect has been identified as 23-year-old Joel Conner McCommon. He was also taken to the hospital and is expected to be okay. The Saginaw Police Department confirmed Tuesday morning that McCommon was wanted for the Saturday murder of 17-year-old Jordan Miles.
Police said that McCommon and Miles knew each other, but the exact nature of their relationship is not known. There are no other suspects in this case. "Still trying to determine motive," added Sgt. Damon Ing with the Saginaw Police Department.
Miles was only days away from graduating from Saginaw High School. He was gunned down after a fight near his home along Creekside Drive on Saturday. He was taken to JPS Hospital in Fort Worth, but later died. Ing added, "Investigators have been relentlessly working on leads and talking to witnesses, which ultimately brought us to this location here at Summit Avenue in Arlington."
While the Arlington shootout surprised those living in the area, some residents said they were terrified thinking there was a gunman on the loose. "I was so scared. I was so scared," neighbor Hamid Dehghan admitted. "I came back to my home and I thought maybe somebody was here with a gun and they were going to kill me."
Police continue to investigate the shooting of the Arlington police officer and the shooting of Jordan Miles and say they expect to charge McCommon with both crimes after he is released from the hospital and booked into jail.
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