A man who was shot by police after leading them on a chase through Garland and allegedly opening fire on them has died in the hospital, according to the Garland Police Department (GPD).
Garland police officers attempted to make a traffic stop on a white passenger vehicle on March 6 at 5:30 p.m. Officers tried to pull the vehicle over at South Jupiter Road and Russwin Drive for traffic-related offenses, according to police.
That’s when the driver led officers on a brief chase, according to police.
“Two Garland Police officers, a 4-year and 3-year veteran, were riding together in a single vehicle at the time of the stop,” said Felicia Jones, spokeswoman for the GPD, in an email sent to The Dallas Express.
Neither of the two officers was injured during the incident. Both will be placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with the department’s policy, per the Garland Police Department.
The suspect, later identified as 32-year-old Adrian Castillo of Garland, led police into a residential neighborhood in the 3900 block of Glenhaven Drive, police said.
When the driver stopped, he exited his vehicle and allegedly fired at the officers while they were still in their patrol vehicle.
Garland police told The Dallas Express that officers returned fire.
“Both officers discharged their duty weapons,” said Jones.
The officers struck Castillo, according to police. Garland medics were on the scene and provided Castillo immediate medical attention before transferring him to a hospital in critical condition, per the GPD.
“GPD was notified earlier this morning by medical personnel that Castillo died from his injuries,” said Jones on Tuesday.
Though the reasons for the shootout remain unclear, detectives learned Castillo had a bond forfeiture warrant for alleged indecency with a child.
The investigation is ongoing.
This incident comes on the heels of a high-crime year for the metroplex, as rates of some crimes continue to spike. Dallas has seen a 15.38% rise from 2022 in reported firearm murders, with the Dallas Police Department logging 45 such incidents so far in 2023.
Other violent crimes are also on the rise, with aggravated assault increasing by more than 12% over last year, according to the Dallas Police Daily Crime Brief.
Violent crime overall has increased more than 6% over last year.
