Officers Shoot Gunman At Josephine City Hall
JOSEPHINE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Texas Rangers descended upon the town of Josephine on Thursday night as they investigated an officer-involved shooting.
According to DPS, around 4:10 p.m., Josephine Police received word a man involved in a disturbance at city hall earlier in the week was returning to city hall.
The suspect was identified Friday afternoon as Bobby Darryl Chamberlain, 62, of Josephine.
Chamberlain is still hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.
At the time of the incident Thursday, Josephine Police officers were at the city hall waiting for Chamberlain.
According to the preliminary investigation, the suspect arrived at the city hall armed with a rifle and the officer's report they gave verbal commands to the suspect to disarm. Those commands were ignored.
"When the suspect did not comply with commands, the officers, fearing for their life, fired their weapons in reaction to the perceived threat," the DPS statement read.
The suspect was struck and rushed by air ambulance to an area hospital in serious condition. The officers were not injured in the incident.
Residents said they heard several shots late in the afternoon near the area many identified as the city hall.
"At first I just thought it was someone knocking on the door," said Vickie Clary, a Josephine resident.
Clary and fellow resident Misty Miller were in shock over the possibility of a shooting happening feet from their home.
"It's just a little, quiet country town. Everybody sticks to themselves. Everybody knows everybody," said Miller. "This is weird. Nothing ever happens like this out here."
Miller said she heard eight to ten gunshots. She said they sounded much deep, not the "pop" of a handgun.
The view up above from Chopper11 captured an image of a rifle on the ground near the area of the shooting.
"I'm glad one of these bullets didn't ricochet because that was a hefty gun," said Miller.
Collin County Sheriff's deputies could be seen guarding the perimeter of the scene while Texas Rangers spent the bulk of their time moving in and out of the area piecing it all together.
"The kids are always outside playing with other neighborhood kids. Yeah, it's pretty scary," said Clary.
Investigators have not identified the suspect or the officers.
Josephine had a population of 812 according to the 2010 census, with 755 residents in Collin County and 57 in Hunt County.