Holly MatkinPasadena, TX – An armed suspect was fatally shot by police after he ran down the middle of a busy roadway waving a gun, then turned and pointed it at officers, dashcam footage showed (video below).
The incident began at approximately 10:15 a.m. on April 19, when the Pasadena Police Department (PPD) received a report of a man pointing a gun into the air in the 3100-block of Spencer Highway near the Hartz Chicken restaurant, KTRK reported.
Officers arrived at the scene within two minutes and spotted the suspect walking down the road with a gun in his hand, according to police.
He was described as a black male in his early 20s, KRIV reported.
Dashcam footage released later in the day showed the suspect running down the middle of the street as police vehicles trailed behind him.
“Drop the gun!” the officers repeatedly ordered.
Dozens of oncoming cars passed within feet of the gunman as the chase continued.
The suspect refused to comply with the officers’ commands to drop the gun, and ultimately spun around and pointed the weapon in their direction, the video showed.
One officer jumped out of his patrol car and opened fire on the suspect, while a second officer shot at the gunman from inside his cruiser, KHOU reported.
The suspect was hit by the gunfire and died from his wounds at the scene.
Police have not released his identity, KHOU reported.
Suspect dead in Pasadena police shooting. You can see a bullet hole in a cruiser windshield. Awaiting details from Police Chief Josh Bruegger @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/aTlHL0Bxxm
— Rilwan Balogun (@KPRC2Rilwan) April 19, 2022
It is unclear whether or not the suspect discharged his weapon during the incident.
Witness Ariana DeLeon said she heard police using their PA systems to order the suspect to drop his gun, KHOU reported.
DeLeon recorded the incident as it unfolded.
“We don’t know exactly what he was going through. I know the police officers were giving him a chance to stop … drop the gun … but that didn’t happen,” she told KHOU. “A lot of people were around him that could have gotten hurt.”
The officers involved in the fatal encounter have been placed on a five-day administrative leave, KHOU reported.
Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger said both officers are shaken up over what occurred, according to KRIV.
“It’s traumatic to take another life no matter what the circumstances are,” Chief Bruegger said. “Even if your own life’s in danger, it’s still gonna be very traumatic.”
One of the officers has been with the department for four years, while the other has served for seven years, KPRC reported.
They are both part of the agency’s Traffic Division.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office ad the Pasadena Police Department Internal Affairs Division are investigating the series of events that preceded the shooting, KHOU reported.
Chief Bruegger released dashcam footage of the incident later the same day.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Graphic Content:
