4 Dead After Texas Shootout
Police in Texas say a man apparently used a phony 911 call to lure officers into a deadly shootout, reports CBS Affiliate KENS-TV in San Antonio.
The alleged shooter, 21-year old Jeremiah Justin Engleton, murdered three officers and wounded two others before killing himself. The killings occurred in Pleasanton, some 25 miles south of San Antonio.
Police say Engleton reported a police disturbance at his home Tuesday night. When two Atascosa County sheriff's deputies arrived to investigate, police say Engleton allegedly ambushed the two officers and shot them dead with a high-powered rifle.
"Both of them were shot and killed apparently as they got out of their patrol car by someone armed with a high powered rifle," said Mike Cox of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
After police officials were unable to contact the pair, Department of Public Safety officer Terry Miller traveled to the scene. Miller was also fatally ambushed by the shooter upon arrival.
Two more officers later arrived, and they were both shot in their arms. Reportedly, their lives were saved by an unidentified San Antonio man who dodged gunfire to assist the two men into his truck before driving rapidly off. The gunman is said to have successfully shot more than one of truck's tires during the escape.
Police then swarmed the area. The alleged gunman apparently shot himself to death with a gun taken from one of the dead officers. The two wounded men are both said to have non-life threatening wounds.
"He just went spraying everybody," said Atascosa County Sheriff Tommy Williams. "It's just a miracle it wasn't several more hit."
Engleton had been arrested Monday night after his wife, 34-year old Violet Anne Engleton, accused him of beating her. The arresting officer was 31-year old Sheriff's Deputy Thomas Monse. By the time authorities released Engleton from jail Tuesday morning, his wife had apparently left the trailer home they shared.
Of the two officers who came to investigate the phony emergency call, one was Monse — Engleton's arresting officer from the night before. The other was 32-year old Sheriff's Deputy Mark Stevenson.