Police on Saturday afternoon released new details and photos from a deadly officer-involved shooting after an officer shot and killed a man accused of shooting and injuring multiple people during what Lubbock police chief Seth Herman called an “extremely chaotic event” near a business on Parkway Drive.
Lubbock’s Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit is investigating the LPD officer-involved shooting that occurred as officers responded about 3:22 a.m. Saturday, July 5, to a report of a fight in progress at a business in the 2900 block of Parkway Drive, according to a statement from Lubbock police.
Police say a man, who was not immediately identified, was shooting at other people at the scene as officers arrived, prompting an officer to shoot the man.
During a news conference Saturday afternoon, Herman elaborated on the encounter and presented still images showing what he described as the suspect pointing a gun at other people at the scene.
“The officer involved in the shooting identified the suspect as he was shooting and immediately began chasing him as he ran away,” Herman said. “In the process, our officer gave verbal commands to show his hands. Instead the suspect leveled his weapon again in the direction of individuals on the scene, prompting our officer to fire his department-issued weapon.”
Herman said that, even after being shot, the suspect continued to reach for his weapon, which he said was seen in photos presented by police during the news conference.
“This action (prompted) our officers to, once again, fire a weapon at the suspect,” he said.
Herman said the encounter with police lasted just under 30 seconds. Five other people were taken to Lubbock-area hospitals, Herman said. Four were taken by ambulance to University Medical Center, including three with serious injuries and one with moderate injuries.
Another person was taken to Covenant Medical Center with moderate injuries.
Herman said those injuries were not a result of the officer engaging with the accused shooter.
No officers were injured and no arrests were immediately announced.
While it was not immediately clear what prompted the initial violence, Herman described a chaotic scene at the businesses, with officers arriving to find people running and screaming as the suspect fired numerous shots.
Herman said the officer involved is on routine administrative leave, per department police, as an investigation is ongoing. The officer has been with LPD for five years, he said.
LPD released images from police body camera
Although police presented still images from the scene, Herman said LPD could not immediately release video from the encounter due to the ongoing investigation.
“At this stage in the investigation, we recognize that people want to see body cam footage,” Herman said. “As I explained earlier, at this time we are unable to release that body cam footage simply because it’s evidentiary in nature, in the ongoing nature of the investigation.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock police say deadly officer-involved shooting came during ‘extremely chaotic event’
Reporting by Adam D. Young, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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