Texas Police Officer Shoots Man Holding Rock

A Texas police department in Grand Prairie is investigating after an officer working an off-duty assignment shot at a man three times Friday night, striking him once, when the man charged at the officer with a large rock. Police said they were called at about 6:20 p.m. to the intersection of Southeast 14th Street and East Marshall Drive as reported by NBC5.

There, witnesses said the man whom the police officer later shot had been assaulting a woman with the rock, so two other men who live nearby grabbed some steel pipes and tried to intervene. By that time, the Grand Prairie officer, who was right down the road, arrived and told everyone to put their weapons down, witnesses said.

“The cop came out and asked them to stop what they were doing, so they dropped it, but the one with the rock didn’t,” said witness Alice Rangel.

Police said the man instead charged at the officer, who retreated behind his patrol car while giving numerous commands for the suspect to drop the rock. The man raised the rock to strike the officer, so the officer fired his weapon to prevent the suspect from striking him, according to a police statement. The officer, “used deadly force against deadly force” when the suspect raised the rock to strike him as reported by Dallas News. “We believe the officer fired at least three shots,” said Grand Prairie police spokesman Lyle Gensler.

The man shot by the officer was rushed into surgery. Police have not identified the man who was shot, but said he is in his 30s and was shot once in the upper leg. He is expected to survive. The officer, whose name was not released, shot the suspect and wounded him “in the lower extremities.” Responding officers and paramedics used a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from the man’s leg, police said.

Gensler said the man is also suspected of hitting his sister in the head with the rock before the incident. He has been charged with aggravated assault family violence and aggravated assault on a police officer. The officer, who has been with the Grand Prairie Police Department at least 10 years, will be placed on three-day administrative leave while this case is being investigated.

There have been many stories and videos in the spotlight lately regarding police shootings across the country. Read more about a recent story as reported by the Inquisitr