KILLEEN, Texas — One person is dead after an officer-involved shooting that took place at around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31, according to the Killeen Police Department.
The shooting took place in the intersection of Malmaison Road and Glynhill Court. Police said they were responding to a call about a person armed with a gun.
At a press conference on Aug. 1, KPD Police Chief Pedro Lopez Jr. stated that when an officer arrived on the scene, they reportedly found a man walking around with a backpack.
The officer reportedly "recognized signs of mental distress" and waited for backup. A second officer arrived a few minutes later.
Lopez said the officers approached the man and asked him to put the backpack down, at which point he allegedly reached into the backpack and took out a gun, moving it in an "upward and outward fashion", police said.
According to Lopez, one of the officers fired their weapon "one or two times", fearing the man was about to shoot. Lopez said the person shot themselves in the head as the officer fired their weapon and died on the scene. Lopez said it is not clear if the officer hit the person with their shot. An autopsy is reportedly pending.
"Lately, I'm not safe really, honestly everywhere you go a lot of people it's aggressive," said Iman Echtay, who lived on the street for six years. "Everybody has a gun in somebody's have to do something about this, you know, we have to be more more like together to be union to be just only calm, kind and have faith because what happened last night, nobody really want to be happening again."
The officer involved has two years of service, said Lopez, and a second officer is a 16-year veteran.
Lopez said the incident was captured on both officers' body cams and several witnesses are being interviewed.
The KPD Criminal Investigation Division is reportedly conducting an investigation into the incident, with an internal investigation also being conducted by Internal Affairs. The officer who fired their weapon will be placed on administrative leave until the investigation is complete, as per protocol, according to Lopez.
According to officers, there was never a threat to the public, and the scene has now been cleared.
More information will be given as the investigation continues.