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Teen burglary suspect arrested after shooting neighbor
A 16-year-old was arrested in Garland after allegedly shooting a neighbor who confronted him during a vehicle burglary.
GARLAND, Texas - The 16-year-old was identified as someone who had allegedly been breaking into vehicles for a couple of weeks. When one neighbor tried to apprehend him, the teen shot him.
Cell-phone video shows several Garland police officers, with guns drawn, working to arrest a teenager who was suspected of shooting an innocent man after burglarizing vehicles on Monday evening.
Local perspective:
Tariq Abusaad recorded a video capturing the moments police handcuffed the 16-year-old suspect who was hiding out.
"I saw a drone and a helicopter, a lot of police cars, marked and unmarked, and I was wondering what’s going on," said Abusaad.
"This is very, very unusual for this particular neighborhood."
In a Garland neighborhood off Dalewood Trail, Garland police say the 16-year-old suspect was inside someone’s garage and vehicle on Monday evening.
A neighbor confronted the teen, recognizing him as someone who burglarized his vehicle two weeks earlier. The teen ran away after the neighbor spotted him on Monday, but returned to see that neighbor speaking with the owner of the vehicle the suspect had just been in.
That’s when police say the neighbor tried to detain the suspect for police but during the struggle, the suspect shot the neighbor.
What they're saying:
"This innocent guy who was trying to do a really good neighborly thing ultimately got hurt, and we are really hopeful that he is able to pull through this," said Officer Matt Pesta of the Garland Police Department.
After Garland police found the suspect hiding in a home a couple blocks away, police realized they had arrest warrants for the suspect waiting to be finalized. Connections to at least 15 recent crimes.
"He was a certified gang member," Pesta added.
Dig deeper:
A member of the Hamilton Park Posse, according to police.
"Man, I don’t know what his ultimate game plan in life is but this isn’t it. I mean he’s going down a path of no return," said Officer Pesta.
Someone at the home where the suspect was found told FOX 4 he does not live there but is friends with someone who does.
For people living in the neighborhood, Monday's scene was uncharacteristic and unsettling.
"People walk their dogs, we all know each other, we wave," said ___
"We love where we live, and we don’t want any mishaps like this."
What's next:
The teen is being held at the Dallas County juvenile detention center. We do not have an update on the gunshot victim, only that he’s in critical condition.
Garland police say he’s 36-years-old and, by all accounts, a "good guy" who they’ve never dealt with before.
A gun believed to be used in the shooting was recovered from the teenage suspect.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by interviews conducted by FOX 4's David Sentendrey. Additional information was provided by the Garland Police Department.