Two law enforcement officers were wounded and a suspect was killed during an incident at a Kaufman County gas station early Saturday morning.
Police were responding to an alarm at around 3 a.m. when the shooting unfolded at an Exxon in the 5000 block of FM 741 between Forney and Crandall.
Officers engaged with a male suspect in the parking lot, sustaining gunshot wounds to their legs, according to the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department, per NBC 5 DFW.
The suspect was also shot when police returned fire. Despite being rendered aid, he died from his wounds at the scene.
Both injured officers were transported to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Their wounds are reportedly non-life-threatening, according to WFAA.
The identities of the suspect and the officers involved in the shooting have not yet been made public. Authorities noted, however, that the injured officers included a Crandall Police Department officer and a deputy with the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office.
The Texas Rangers are investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, in Dallas, there have been more than 3,400 gun-related crimes committed this year as of August 9, including 2,502 assaults, 114 homicides, 792 robberies, and 21 sexual assaults, according to a report by the Dallas Police Department.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, black and Hispanic individuals are grossly overrepresented among violent crime victims in the city.
DPD has been facing serious staffing issues, resulting in lower response times and a strain on resources.
Only around 3,000 officers are currently in the field, despite a prior City analysis advising that a force of roughly 4,000 is needed to properly police a jurisdiction the size of Dallas.
For its part, the Dallas City Council approved a budget of only $654 million for DPD this fiscal year, considerably less taxpayer money than what is being spent on public safety in other high-crime cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
