Body Cam Video Released Of Fort Worth Hostage Situation Where Officer Shot, Killed Suspect Markevvion Cannon
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Fort Worth police have released body cam video of an incident where a 19-year-old suspect was shot and killed by an officer after he took three people as hostages inside an apartment.
Markevvion Devonte Cannon was killed during the hostage situation after police said he used a 12-year-old girl, a 15-year-old boy and a 19-year-old woman as "human shields" during the incident.
Police said they released the body cam footage "to ensure public safety and remain open and transparent."
The incident happened on Thursday, July 18 at around 11:30 a.m. at an apartment complex in the 2900 block of Broadmoor Drive. In the video, a woman could be seen running down a hallway and directing arriving officers to an apartment where the suspect was allegedly holding the hostages.
The woman could be heard telling officers that Cannon went into the apartment, pulled out a gun and told everyone inside to "get down."
When officers were able to get into the apartment, they saw Cannon with a gun in hand and the three hostages inside. Yelling could be heard from inside the unit as police tried to make contact with the 19-year-old. Police only provided audio from this part of the incident due to public information restrictions.
After seeing the gun, the officers went to get helmets, ballistic shields and other body armor to try and end the situation.
While officers were outside of the apartment's door, the video shows several shots being fired at the officers from inside the unit. Bullets could be seen going through the door. Police said the shots hit an officer's shield.
Officers continued to try and talk with Cannon in order to end the incident peacefully. However, he continued to also fire shots at officers from the apartment's window. A patrol car was hit by the gunfire. Additional body cam video showed an officer on the outside trying to hide behind the car as the shots were being fired.
The video released by police ended with them showing the shots that were fired from Cannon toward outside officers. Body cam footage of the rest of the incident that led to Cannon's death was not released.
Eventually, the officers made their way into the apartment and found Cannon with the three hostages in the master bedroom closet. Police said the 19-year-old refused to surrender his weapon. An officer then fired one shot at Cannon, striking him.
Cannon was taken to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The three hostages escorted out of the apartment by police. Police said they are not related to Cannon.
There were no injuries to officers or civilians reported from the incident.
According to police, the initial call came when Cannon went to the apartment to visit his ex-girlfriend and a baby they share together. There was an active warrant for Cannon for assault, where his ex-girlfriend was the victim.
Police said the warrant included a protective order that prevented Cannon from contacting his ex-girlfriend. Some sort of altercation during his visit led to the initial call for police.
The officer who shot Cannon was placed on administrative leave as per standard policy.
