DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A Mesquite police officer responding to a nuisance call has died after he was shot in the parking lot of a grocery store Friday afternoon.
Police said it happened when officers were on a call at an Albertson store on the South Belt Line near Cartwright Road at about 1:40 p.m.
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A spokesman for Albertson said the store closed briefly after the shooting, but has since reopened. They said Albertson’s thoughts were with “those involved and with their families” and confirmed that they were cooperating with law enforcement’s ongoing investigation.
“This is a senseless act of violence that has torn a loving husband and father from his family,” Mesquite Police Chief David Gill apparently said as he announced the officer’s death. . “He is a 21-year veteran of the Mesquite Police Department. He is a good man, a good friend, a good officer. Please pray for his family and ours.”
The fallen officer is only the second member of the force to be killed in action in the history of the Mesquite Police Department. The first time was 47 years ago.
Officials previously confirmed the officer and suspect were both taken to hospital in critical condition.
Authorities believe the suspect shot himself after shooting the police officer was believed to be a suicide.
Credit: Chopper 11 / CBSDFWCBS 11’s
Police Departments and Sheriffs from all over North Texas send their condolences to the Mesquite Police Department and the officer’s family.
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Credit: Chopper 11 / CBSDFW
Video from Chopper 11 shows a very lively scene outside a Mesquite grocery store on Friday afternoon.
CBS 11’s Nick Starling was also at the scene and said officers cordoned off a large area of the parking lot.
Credit: Nick Starling / CBSDFW
Within minutes of the shooting, Mesquite and Dallas officers gathered outside Baylor Hospital in Dallas to await an update on the officer’s condition.
Credit: CBSDFW
A convoy of Mesquite and Dallas police cars escorted the fallen officer’s body from the hospital to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office.
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Credit: Chopper 11 / CBSDFW
(Source: Nick Starling / CBSDFW.COM)
(Source: Nick Starling / CBSDFW.COM)
(Source: Nick Starling / CBSDFW.COM)
(Source: Nick Starling / CBSDFW.COM)
