By Claire Z. Cardona, Naheed Rajwani, Dallas News
Two officers and a civilian were shot Tuesday afternoon near a Home Depot in Lake Highlands, police said.
The officers were critically wounded in the shooting about 4:15 p.m. in the 11600 block of Forest Central Drive, near U.S. Highway 75 and Forest Lane, police said. The civilian’s condition was not available.
Multiple news outlets reported that at least one of the officers was shot in the head.
Officers were searching for the suspected shooter, who was reportedly identified as 29-year-old Armando Juarez, near the wooded area and along the creek behind the store.
(Search for suspect after officer-involved shooting at Home Depot in Dallas. Courtesy of WFAA and YouTube. Posted on Apr 24, 2018)
At nearby Forest Lane Station, DART passengers were not allowed to get off or on the trains in an attempt to prevent the suspect from leaving the area, DART spokesman Mark Ball said.
We can confirm that two @DallasPD officers have been shot and critically wounded. We will provide updates as we get them. Please pray for our officers and their families.
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) April 24, 2018
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said in a tweet that they were “closely monitoring” the situation and “praying for our officers and their families.”
Council member Adam McGough, who represents the area, said he is praying for the officers and their families.
“It’s just more reminder of what a dangerous job they have,” he said.
Our thoughts and prayers are with @DallasPD and the two officers shot and critically wounded. Texas honors all the men and women who protect and serve our communities, and justice will be served. https://t.co/gkUnxciFOs
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) April 24, 2018
Casey Phelps of Garland was on her way to pick up a friend from work when she saw flashing police lights behind her on Forest Lane.
“I thought, what did I do?” she said, until she realized they weren’t after her.
She pulled over and got out to see who the officers were chasing and saw a man in a white shirt and shorts emerge from behind a small market nearby.
Seeing the officers, some with guns drawn, he immediately fled back in the other direction, she said.
Aerial footage from the scene showed a man being loaded into an ambulance. At least one person was taken to Texas Health Presbyterian of Dallas.
(2 Dallas police officers, 1 security guard shot at Home Depot in North Dallas. Courtesy of WFAA and YouTube. Posted on Apr 24, 2018)
It was not immediately clear what led to the shooting.
Citing sources, WFAA-TV (Channel 8) said Dallas police were helping an off-duty officer working security arrest someone when shots were fired.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also responding to the scene.
In February, a Richardson police officer was shot and killed after responding to a disturbance call.
Officer David Sherrard was the first officer killed in the line of duty in the department’s history, and the first on-duty officer to be killed in Texas this year.
Last year, a barricaded gunman in Little Elm unleashed a “hail of gunfire” on Detective Jerry Walker and fellow SWAT officers.
Walker was the first Little Elm officer to die in the line of duty.
(Learn More. Courtesy of FOX 4 News – Dallas-Fort Worth and YouTube. Posted on Jan 17, 2017)
In spring 2016, Euless Officer David Hofer was fatally ambushed while responding to a report of a gunman at a park.
That same month, Fort Worth Officer Matt Pearce was shot seven times while pursuing two robbery suspects.
He survived his injuries and eventually returned to duty.
In July 2016, a gunman opened fire on officers protecting protesters in downtown Dallas.
Four Dallas officers and a Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer were killed, and nine others were injured.
Dallas officer Josh Burns was shot in 2014 while he and a partner were responding to a domestic disturbance in far northeast Dallas.
Before the ambush, the last Dallas officer to be fatally shot in the line of duty was Norm Smith in 2009.
Staff writers Claire Ballor, Dana Branham, Tristan Hallman, Marc Ramirez and Tasha Tsiaperas contributed to this report.
Original post https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2018/04/24/reports-shots-fired-officers-near-lake-highlands-home-depot
Editor’s note: Our thoughts and prayers are with the officers, and their families both blood and blue.
