Police, deputies and other emergency crews from throughout the region responded to the incident, along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other federal agencies, Garcia said. Some who declined to leave were advised to stay at the rear of their houses and stay low, Garcia said. Media outlets at the scene reported gunfire was ongoing throughout the standoff, and nearby residents were urged to leave their homes. The hospital where the Lubbock County deputy died, Covenant Health Levelland, is situated less than a mile from the standoff scene and placed itself on lockdown “to ensure the safety of our patients, caregivers, and visitors” and has deployed additional security officers to the hospital. “It wasn’t long thereafter that we had additional shots fired, and we had officers that were injured,” Garcia said. “We did return fire, but it did not appear that we struck the suspect at that time,” the chief said.īackup was called from the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office tactical squad and the Hockley County Sheriff’s Office. Moments later, the suspect opened the front door to the house and opened fire on the Levelland officers. Concerned about the report that the man was armed, a police negotiator tried to open talks with the suspect, who was hostile and did not want a discussion, Garcia said. Garcia said investigators believed the man was alone in the house.
#STANDOFF 2 BEST MOMENTS DRIVER#
Arriving officers determined the neighbor’s pickup truck matched the description that the trooper provided of the vehicle with the apparently provocative driver at the wheel. Thursday, Levelland police received a report that the complainant’s neighbor “was acting strange and was walking around with what appeared to be a large gun,” Garcia said. “During that traffic contact, he had a separate individual that was driving recklessly, and as he reported to us, appeared to be trying to bait him into some type of confrontation,” Garcia said.Īt 1:12 p.m. Thursday as a state trooper was conducting a traffic stop, Garcia said. However, the standoff capped a string of events that began at 11:17 a.m. It was not immediately clear what prompted the man to open fire or to barricade himself in the house.
#STANDOFF 2 BEST MOMENTS PROFESSIONAL#
“He personified the true professional in law enforcement, especially here in Texas law enforcement.” He also said Bartlett, leader of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT command, was a nine-year veteran of the department who had served overseas in the U.S. Hockley County Sheriff Ray Scifres had said the suspect had a history of contact with police. The other three officers were treated for minor injuries and had been discharged from the hospital, he said. Shawn Wilson was in critical but stable condition in University Medical Center in Lubbock after surgery, said Garcia. Bartlett was the commander of the sheriff’s tactical unit. Josh Bartlett of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office was taken to Covenant Health Levelland hospital and died of his wounds, according to a sheriff’s office statement. Three of the wounded officers were taken to a Lubbock hospital. The confrontation escalated quickly, gunfire erupted as the suspect barricaded himself inside a house, and a standoff ensued. after someone reported a man as possibly armed along the residential street in Levelland, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Lubbock.
The standoff between the suspect and law enforcement had begun at the home around 1 p.m. The extent of the suspect’s injuries was not disclosed.Īuthorities used robots to enter the home, then deployed gas which drew Soto-Chivara out of the residence, Lubbock County Sheriff Kelly Rowe said at the briefing. The suspect was being transported to a hospital in Lubbock for treatment, Garcia said. at a home in Levelland, police Chief Albert Garcia told reporters. Omar Soto-Chavira, 22, was injured when he was taken into custody around 11:30 p.m. LEVELLAND, Texas (AP) - Authorities captured the suspect late Thursday following an hourslong police standoff where one officer was killed and four others were wounded in a small West Texas city.
0 kommentar(er)
