2 Officers Shot At Dallas Home Depot; Suspect In Custody After Chase
NORTHEAST DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Two Dallas police officers and a loss prevention officer were shot at a Home Depot just after 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Police arrested the suspect, Armando Luis Juarez, around 9:00 p.m. after a chase in Dallas.
The chase ended in the 3700 block of South Versailles, near Dallas Love Field Airport.
"We got our man," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said at a late-night news conference.
Juarez was transferred to the Dallas County Jail very early Wednesday morning.
Moments after suspect Juarez was taken into custody, Dallas police Chief U. Renee Hall thanked the officers on a radio call.
"Base to all units. Excellent work, excellent work. Thank everybody for their diligence in the matter. Appreciate you very much. And we're still praying for our brother and sister," she said.
Chief Hall later said all three shooting victims were out of surgery.
"Our police department was attacked this afternoon," said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings during an evening news conference at the hospital.
"I continue to be upset at the lack of respect for our police in this city and this country," Rawlings added.
He said officials would not be commenting on the officers conditions at this time.
Police Chief Renee Hall said, "I want to ask each and everyone of you for prayers for our community and our officers."
Hall said state, local and federal authorities helped with the search for Juarez.
The 29-year-old had an outstanding warrant for felony theft when police approached him at the Home Depot.
He now faces charges for aggravated assault on police officers.
A source close to the investigation told CBS 11 News reporter J.D. Miles that the male police officer was shot in the back of the head. The female officer was shot in the face, according to the source.
Both officers were gravely injured and one was resuscitated according to Dallas police. The injured civilian is believed to be a loss prevention officer at the Home Depot.
Police could not confirm the civilian's condition.
After the shooting, at the store in the 11600 block of Forest Central Drive, police say Juarez took off in a white-colored work truck. It was then police put out a description of the truck -- that had "GX4" on the back fender, a ladder rack, and large exhaust pipes rising from the front -- and issued a be on the lookout (BOLO) alert.
Immediately after the shooting police, with guns drawn, were seen at the back of the Home Depot as employees appeared to be rushing out of the back of the store and away from the area.
"The officers got him and they started doing the shots it was about seven shots that we heard," said Mercedes Espinosa, a Home Depot employee. "I've seen two officers down surrounded in a puddle of blood."
A massive search from police helicopters the air and on the ground followed after witnesses reported the shooter fled on foot and may be hiding in a nearby creek.
But when police reviewed security camera video they discovered the suspect took off in the pickup truck.
Inside the store, employees and customers either froze in panic or fled in fear from the brutal violence that played out in front of them.
The store was evacuated and workers were sent home for the day.
