Police Kill Suspect At Dallas Apartment Complex
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Police officers in Dallas were involved in a shooting early Monday that left one suspect dead. It happened at the Avondale Parc Apartments, located in the 10800 block of Stone Canyon Road, near Royal Lane.
The officers were actually responding to an earlier disturbance involving a car crash at the apartment complex at around 11:45 p.m. on Sunday night. They were still there at around 12:05 a.m. Monday, when they heard shots fired on the other side of the complex. The two incidents were not related.
Investigators explained that the officers spotted a Latin man holding a handgun. The suspect was seen waving the weapon and shooting. At that point, at least two officers -- possibly more -- got involved in the situation.
"The officers went from their original call to the other side of the complex, where they made contact with the suspect," Deputy Chief Rob Sherwin with the Dallas Police Department said. "They did fire their weapons at the suspect."
The suspect was then rushed to Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, but was pronounced dead. He was later identified by police as 24-year-old Gerardo Ramirez. No police officers were injured during this incident.
Ramirez reportedly told his girlfriend that he had been using drugs, did not want to live and wanted to shoot at police officers. Authorities were previously dispatched to his home after he had threatened to harm himself in August.
Neighbors at the complex said that the suspect starting firing shots from his third-floor apartment unit, before then moving to the parking lot. Several cars at the complex have bullet holes in them, as does the building where Ramirez lived.
One resident said that they heard about 20 shots total -- but it is not known how many came from the suspect and how many were fired by police.
People who live at the complex described the tense moments, including a mother who grabbed her two kids -- one of which is a special needs child -- and hid inside of a closet. "He lives upstairs of me, and the shots... it was really close to my door. I was really scared for my life, my family's life," said Teresi Macedo.
"I was just scared. I was kind of paranoid," said Ben Suh. "I wasn't really near the windows. I didn't really want to get involved in it."
The Dallas Police Department just recently started testing body cameras with some of their officers, but it is not clear if these particular officers were wearing the devices. Detectives are still investigating this case. "We have recovered a handgun here at the scene," Sherwin added. "Our investigation is just beginning. We have multiple witnesses that we need to talk to."
A box of ammunition was also found in the parking lot where the suspect was shot. Some witnesses said that they saw the man reload his gun before police arrived.