Neighborhood Reacts After Police Fatally Shoot Suspect In Standoff
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - A day after police shot and killed a man in an Arlington neighborhood, residents are praising police saying the standoff with the man could have easily turned into a hostage situation.
An Arlington neighborhood shut down and neighbors were told to stay inside their homes while police try to talk down an armed man wearing body armor.
"This could have turned out a whole lot worse than what it was," said resident Latina Harris.
Arlington police say the man ended up in the neighborhood on Shady Valley Drive. He was going door to door, trying to open doors to get inside homes. He hid from police in someone's backyard, drinking water from the hose. He later emerged between two houses, wearing body armor and armed. Neighbors tells CBS 11 they heard police repeatedly ordering him to put his gun down.
The gunman, who hasn't been identified, didn't follow orders and was shot, according to the neighbors.
Just an hour before the Saturday evening standoff, police were called to an apartment in Arlington.
Police say the man attacked his brother with a knife. When police arrived, he put on body armor and escaped. He stole a car at gunpoint, crashing and ended up in this neighborhood on Shady Valley Drive.
Resident Brooks Todd says a detective on the scene was devastated that there wasn't a peaceful outcome.
"He was horror struck," said Todd. "He's like 'Oh, if SWAT could have come here, we have non-lethal ways to do this. This didn't have to end this way.' I mean, he was heart broken."
Residents say this has brought them closer, some of them meeting for the first time. They're now planning a barbecue for the whole block.
"If anything happens, we already have established a rapport where we would watch out for each other and check on each other," said Harris.