Mall security-police chase-shoot armed shoplifter in Arlington TX mall
ARLINGTON TX Nov 27 2017
A male suspect was injured after a police officer had to open fire inside the Parks Mall in Arlington on Sunday afternoon, according to the Arlington Police Department.
Arlington police spokesman Christopher Cook confirmed the officer-involved shooting at the mall and said it occurred at approximately 4:21 p.m.
Cook spoke with the media after police evacuated and set up a perimeter around the mall. He said the shooting took place inside the mall while the officer involved was investigating a theft offense at the Sunglass Hut store.
Mall security staff reported on a two-way radio that they were following a male suspect who had stolen two pairs of sunglasses.
“The suspect attempted to flee on foot and then ran through the upper level of the food court,” said Cook, “where he turned around and produced what appeared to be a replica or imitation firearm.”
Cook said one uniformed Arlington police officer remained on the upper deck of the mall while the second uniformed officer was on the lower deck. The male suspect attempted to flee from security and ran towards an escalator to goes from the lower deck to the upper deck near the food court.
At that time, Cook said the suspect pulled a firearm from his waistband and pointed it at the police officer on the lower deck.
He said the officer discharged his weapon striking the suspect, later identified as a male suspect in his early 20’s, multiple times. At this time it is unclear how many times the suspect was struck.
However, police did recover a replica firearm that discharges ‘BB’s or pellets’ from the suspect, according to Cook.
“This happened when the mall was extremely busy. I went in before the scene was stabilized and there were a lot of people upset, crying and kids misplaced from their parents and people sheltering,” said Cook. “There was a lot of bystanders, but luckily no one else was injured in this incident. The officer’s going to be OK. The only person struck was the suspect.”
Cook said the officer involved was on-duty as a South Retail District Unit as a uniformed officer in the mall at the time of the incident.
The male suspect was taken to a local hospital and no word has been given on his status at this time.
Cook added that officers have had to deal with suspects using replica weapons during interactions with police.
“As you all know we’ve had several incidents in our community involving this air-soft style weapons that look real,” said Cook. “And you can’t distinguish the difference between the two.”
Arlington police released photos of the shooting with the suspect wearing a light gray hooded sweatshirt, standing on the escalator, pointing what appears to Ben a weapon at the uniformed officer below.
Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson took to Twitter to defend the officer’s actions saying, “Second photograph show the suspect pointing imitation replica BB gun directly at officer who was attempting to detain him for a theft investigation. It is nearly impossible to determine the authenticity of a real versus fake gun.”
Cook said the officer will be interviewed as the investigation into the shooting continues, and that the officer could be placed on administrative leave during the process.
“Typically it’s the standard administrative leave,” said Cook. “Obviously it’s a traumatic event for the officer as well.”
The Parks Mall in Arlington remained closed for the duration of Sunday night.
telegram.com
