Dallas Police Officers Shoot & Kill Homeowner
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Two people are dead after a shooting involving police officers in Dallas. The incident happened at about 7:45 p.m. on Thursday night in the 10300 block of Plummer Drive.
The violence began when a homeowner shot and killed 30-year-old suspected burglar Jerry Hale, who, police said, begged for mercy.
When police first received a call about the incident, two witnesses reported that shots were being fired in an alley. According to authorities, those witnesses walked over to see what was going on and saw a man holding a gun, standing over another man on the ground. That man with the gun chased those witnesses down the alley, police explained, after they told the gunman that they had called 911.
Witness David Murphrey recounted his exchange with the man. "I said, 'No, don't kill him. I've already called the cops. Cops are on the way.' He said, 'Good, I'm going to kill him and then I'm going to shoot them, too.' I said, 'Oh, my God.'"
Juan Garcia was the second witness. "Before the cops came, we told him to put the gun down. We said the cops are coming. He didn't care. He, after that, said, 'I'm going to shoot him again.' He just pointed the gun at him. We're like, 'No! No! Don't! Don't!' He just pointed the gun at us and we ducked," Garcia recalled. "We were scared for our lives."
The witnesses managed to escape. When officers arrived at the scene, they went into the alley. "According to three independent witnesses, the officers were giving loud verbal commands to the man to drop his weapon," detailed Maj. Jeff Cotner with the Dallas Police Department, shortly after the incident. "The man pointed his weapon at the officers and the officers fired their weapons in defense."
"The cops repeated it. They said it like 20 to 25 times, put the gun down, put the gun down. And all of a sudden, he cocked it," Garcia stated. "They had to do what they had to do."
Three policemen fired at the homeowner, believing him to actually be the prowler. After the homeowner was on the ground, he reached for his weapon again. Police responded with more gunfire. It is not known how many shots were fired by authorities. None of the officers were injured during this encounter.
The officers have been identified as Daniel Summers, Julian McDaniel and Alexander Everett -- all four-year veterans of the department.
Firefighters and medical personnel also responded to the scene, but could not attend to the injured victims because of the danger involved in the situation. Other police officers were also at the scene, but did not actually fire their weapons at the homeowner.
Neighbors said that they knew little about the homeowner, who has been identified as 57-year-old William Hall, because he rarely stepped outside. A neighborhood crime watch leader said that he may have been unemployed for years. His home was boarded up and sealed, and may not have had utilities. Mary Nonemaker lives nearby and said that she was "scared, because it was right over there, and the shots were so vivid and loud."
Latest News:
Top Trending:
- Climber Falls To Her Death In Grapevine
- Tricks To Using The New iPhone Software
- Click To Text In The "Show Your Spirit' Sweepstakes
- Ben & Skin Parody: Rangers Won't Die
- Johnny Manziel's Popularity Plummets
- PHOTOS: Your Pet Pictures
