FORT WORTH, Texas — A suspect was shot and killed by a Fort Worth officer after the suspect fatally shot a hostage following a police chase out of Central Texas on Sunday night, officials said.
Officials on Tuesday identified the suspect as J'Quinnton D. Hopson, 38, and the victim as Shaelan J. Hill, 31, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.
In a news conference late Sunday, Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said the department was called around 7:23 p.m. to help in a chase that was going north on Interstate 35. The call had come from police in Troy, about 27 miles south of Waco, regarding an "erratic driver."
Troy Police Chief Jeremy Gooch told WFAA on Monday that his department began receiving calls around 6:15 p.m. and that the vehicle may have come from the Belton and Temple area.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and Hill County Sheriff's Office were also helping.
The vehicle being chased eventually crashed on I-35W near Spur 280, Fort Worth police said.
Reporting as preliminary information, Noakes said a male passenger had been holding a female driver at gunpoint. After the vehicle crashed, Noakes said officers heard a gunshot from the vehicle.
Noakes said it appeared the suspect had shot the driver, which led officers to approach the vehicle.
Although it's currently unclear what led to it, Noakes said at least one Fort Worth officer fired at the suspect. Officers then moved in to render aid.
According to Noakes, an officer transported the victim to a hospital due to traffic congestion, which made it hard for medical aid to arrive at the scene.
Both the suspect and victim died from their injuries, Noakes said.
Noakes said the Fort Worth Police Department's major case and internal affairs units will be investigating the police shooting part of the incident.
“[Officers] were presented with a deadly situation where there was a hostage inside a vehicle, based on the information we know now, who had been shot," Noakes said in the news conference. "There’s an armed person inside of the vehicle… [officers] formulated a plan and acted. They did what they could to try to save that victim despite the danger that was presented."
