FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth mall security guard told police he fatally shot a suspected jewelry thief because the man had a hammer in his hand and ran past a child while fleeing, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The 31-year-old guard is now facing a murder charge.
Security guard charged with murder
The backstory:
Fort Worth police arrested Tyron Henton on Friday in connection to the Oct. 14 shooting at La Gran Plaza shopping mall shortly before closing.
Police said Henton was working as a security guard inside the mall when he shot and killed a man who used a blunt object to smash a jewelry kiosk.
The man ran across the parking lot before collapsing near Seminary Drive. He died shortly after police arrived on scene.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him as 20-year-old Deavyn Holt.
Fort Worth security guard charged with murder after shooting, killing man smashing jewelry kiosk: police
A security guard has been charged with murder after police said he shot and killed a man who was smashing a jewelry kiosk at a Fort Worth shopping center.
Dig deeper:
According to a newly released arrest warrant affidavit, Henton is an employee of Tactical Enforcement Protective Division and was working as an armed security guard for both the Electronic Plus kiosk and ParadIce Jewelry store.
Holt had entered the mall wearing a black mask over his face and approached the Electronic Plus kiosk. He used a hammer to strike a jewelry display case, grabbed a felt-lined panel of gold necklaces, and then took off running, the affidavit states.
Henton told police that he looked up after hearing the glass shatter and saw the suspected thief running away, so he began chasing him.
Tyron Henton (Credit: Fort Worth Police Department)
"Near the exit, Henton observed that Holt was holding a hammer and that he had run past a child while fleeing. Henton stated that he thought the fleeing subject was a threat to the child since he had the hammer. Henton then drew his firearm and began shooting, firing two sequences of shots. The first, a three-shot sequence, was fired while both Henton and Holt were still inside the mall. The second, a two-shot sequence, was fired after both Henton and Holt had exited the mall," the police document states.
Officers later questioned Henton and other witnesses. They determined Holt posed no imminent threat to Henton or anyone else in the mall.
Security video also showed that while Holt tried to flee with the hammer in his hand, he never used that hammer in a threatening manner against Henton or anyone else.
That’s why police believe Henton committed the offense of murder.
What they're saying:
Officer Cynthia Wood, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth Police Department, said the law only allows deadly force to stop deadly force. In this case, she said the deadly force was unjustified.
"That was not the time to use that. No one was in danger at the time," she said. "Someone coming in to steal unless it’s a threat to you in any way, a weapon pointing at you that can be justified, but just somebody coming in and taking property not threatening anybody that’s where the situation failed."
FOX 4 also spoke to an employee at the kiosk who said the incident has everyone rattled. A new security guard appeared to be patrolling nearby at the time.
What's next:
Henton is being held in the Tarrant County jail with a bond set at $100,000.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the Fort Worth Police Department, an arrest warrant affidavit for Tyron Henton, an interview with FWPD Officer Cynthia Wood, and an off-camera conversation with mall employees.