Dallas Police Officer Kills Fatal Shooting Suspect
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A violent night in Dallas ended with yet another officer-involved shooting. A police officer shot and killed a suspect who allegedly gunned down another man in the parking lot of a Walmart store. The incident happened just after 12:30 a.m. early Wednesday in the northern part of the city.
Authorities are investigating multiple crimes scenes, all located near the intersection of Central Expressway and Midpark Road.
The situation began with an altercation at the Murphy Gas Station located just outside of the Walmart store. A witness told police that she saw the confrontation, and one man was shot inside of a car. The victim attempted to drive away, but ended up crashing into cars in the parking lot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An off-duty Dallas Police Department officer, who had just finished his shift working security at the store, heard the commotion and went outside. He realized that there was a crime in progress and identified himself as a police officer. But the suspect in the shooting started to flee in his vehicle, with other passengers inside.
The officer chased the suspect through the Walmart parking lot in his personal vehicle, confronting him near the street and ultimately firing at the suspect and killing him. The officer was not hurt during the incident. "The officer re-engaged them," stated Maj. Jeff Cotner with the Dallas Police Department. "Noticed one suspect was armed. Officer gave specific directions to suspect. Suspect then took an action that made the officer believe he was in imminent danger. Officer discharged his weapon."
"As soon as I looked up, an officer had been shooting a suspect in his car," said a witness who only identified himself as Keith. "Before I looked up, I was hearing an altercation. I knew it was an officer dealing with somebody. As soon as I looked up -- I was probably less than 50 yards away -- I just watched the officer shoot the suspect in the car."
The suspect's vehicle then also crashed into parked cars at a nearby Denny's restaurant. A weapon was later recovered from that vehicle. The male suspect was also pronounced dead at the scene. The other invidivuals inside of the suspect's car were taken into custody.
The names of the victims have not been released. Officials have not yet determined a motive for the first shooting. Surveillance camera video shows the two cars leaving the gas pumps, employees said, but it does not include footage of the actual shooting.
This is the fourth officer-involved shooting for the Dallas Police Department in just a week.
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