Fort Worth Officer Stable After Shooting; Suspect Killed
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A Fort Worth police sergeant was listed in stable condition late Thursday after being shot during a confrontation with an armed man who was then shot and killed by officers in Southwest Fort Worth.
The unnamed sergeant was taken to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. The officer underwent surgery with injuries to his abdomen.
At a very brief press conference Fort Worth Police Chief Rhonda Robertson said the officer was not believed to have life threatening injuries.
When asked how many times the officer was shot and where on his body he was hit, the Robertson said, "We do believe he has one gunshot wound. There may be others."
The chief and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price both asked the public to pray for the officer, his family, and other members of law enforcement out doing their duty.
Some officers at the hospital walked out displaying 'thumbs up' signals, possibly indicating their injured colleague would be okay.
Sources tell CBS 11 the injured sergeant has been with the department 19 years. Police squad cars lined the street outside the hospital.
Speaking to the media Corporal Tracey Knight became very emotional and said, "We all do this job for the love of the job and for the love of the community, and we all know what can happen. But it is painful every time it [officer shooting] happens, across the country, and it is especially when it happens here at home."
During a briefing to the media, police said officers were called out for a welfare check and were confronted by a 40-year-old man with a gun. The man allegedly shot at police and hit the sergeant. Officers returned fire and killed the man. The name of the suspect has not been released.
The shooting happened on Hildring Drive, in southwest Fort Worth - not far from Hulen Mall. Dozens of officers remained at the house on the corner of Selkirk and Hildring hours after the shooting.
Residents said they could not sleep knowing what happened just a few doors down.
"Just pray for our officer. Pray for the family here at this house. But right now pray for our officer," neighbor Brenda Silcox said.
A source said the neighborhood association sent out a statement to residents saying:
"It's our understanding this was a mentally ill man whom all neighbors knew. He apparently shot at a police officer who was responding to a burglar alarm or welfare check at his house."
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