Police Chief: Man Ambushes 3 Texas Officers In His Home, Kills 1
SAN MARCOS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Authorities say a man who killed one Texas police officer and wounded two others before killing himself was waiting in body armor to ambush them when they entered his home.
Bob Klett, the interim police chief of San Marcos, said Sunday that the officers were responding to a 911 call about a man in the home who had hit his wife and threatened other family members.
Officer Justin Putnam, who's been with the San Marcos Police Department for five years, was killed in the line of duty. He was 31.
Officers Franco Stewart and Justin Mueller were also wounded but remain hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
Klett said there was nothing that the three officers could have done to avoid the gunfire.
"Our family in blue is mourning the loss of our fallen brother, Officer Justin R. Putnam, who was killed in the line of duty last evening. Officer Putnam was with SMPD for more than five years. Words can never adequately express our profound sorrow for Officer Putnam's family and loved ones. To say he will be missed is an understatement."
The department has asked that all three families are "given time to grieve and deal with their situations in private."