Friday night incident makes 5 officers shot in Tarrant County in 2016
Fort Worth, Tx - Fort Worth Police have yet to identify the, now dead, gunman who shot and wounded two officers after they responded to a home for a suicide report.
Before they were shot Friday night, the officers discovered an elderly man dead in the Fort Worth home, apparently of a gunshot wound. Someone inside the home directed them to a "potential witness" in the tool shed, authorities said. When they opened the shed doors, the gunman started firing.
The officers, both of whom were wearing body armor, returned fire and took cover until backup officers arrived.
Tactical-squad officers tried to negotiate with the gunman and tear gas eventually was inserted into the shed, but with no response. Finally, an armored police vehicle breached a wall and officers found the suspect dead inside.
It was not immediately clear if the suspect died from a police bullet or his own, police spokesman Officer Daniel Segura said.
The motive for the shooting is unclear, but Segura said there had been at least two calls for disturbances involving a father and son at the address over the past two years, as well as one in 2012.
Fox 4 spoke a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous. He says the elderly couple lived in the house with their son for more than 20 years, “They were peaceful people, they were lovely people, and it's just a tragic tragedy,” he said.
Officer Xavier Serrano, an eight-year veteran of the force, is expected to survive. He is at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth pending further surgery for his wounds to his upper torso, arms and shoulder.
Probationary Officer Ray Azucena, suffered a minor injury when he was shot in his body armor. He gave a thumbs-up as he was rolled out of the hospital in a wheelchair, Saturday morning.
As of Friday night, five police officers have been shot in Tarrant County in 2016.
Officer Matthew Pearce was shot and nearly died in March. Two weeks before that, that David Hoffer was ambushed in a city park by a 22-year-old man on drugs. In April, Eddie Johnston was shot and wounded in a shootout with a murder suspect.
Present day – Fort Worth officers returned to the crime scene, Saturday morning to continue combing the area.
Residents also held a march in Fort Worth to unify the community. The Fort Worth Police Department posted video of the event on its Facebook page.
People interested in helping the injured officers can donate online to the Assist the Officer Foundation in Fort Worth at atofortworth.org
--The Associated Press contributed to this report.