The confrontation in Texas: SWAT command commander killed, 4 injured after confrontation with gunman

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A rapid response force commander was killed and four other officers were wounded after an hours-long standoff with a police gunman on Thursday in a small West Texas town, officials said. Authorities say the suspect was arrested just before midnight in Levelland, about 30 miles west of Lubbock.

The confrontation between the suspect and law enforcement authorities at the house began around 1 pm after someone reported the possible presence of an armed man along the residential street. The confrontation quickly escalated, shooting broke out when the suspect barricaded himself inside a house, and a confrontation erupted.

Three wounded officers were taken to Lubbock Hospital. Sgt. Josh Bartlett was taken from the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office to Convent Health Levelland Hospital and died of his injuries, according to a sheriff’s office statement. Bartlett was the commander of the Sheriff’s tactical unit.

Texas and local officials responded Thursday to the death of a sergeant in Lubbock County. Josh Bartlett Read more: https://t.co/dkZXIYG0aE

– KLBK News (@KLBKNews) July 16, 2021

Levelland Police Sergeant. Garcia said Sean Wilson was in a critical but stable condition at University Medical Center in Lubbock after the surgery. He said the other three officers were treated for minor injuries and released from hospital.

Police Chief Albert Garcia told reporters that Omar Soto Chavira, 22, was injured when he was arrested around 11:30 p.m. at a home in Liveland. Garcia said the suspect was taken to a hospital in Lubbock for treatment.

At the press conference, Lubbock County Mayor Kelly Rowe said authorities used robots to enter the house, and then used gas that drove Soto-Chevara out of the house.

Ray Scievers, Hockley County Sheriff, said the suspect has a history of calling the police. He also said Bartlett, the commanding officer of Special Forces Command at the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, was a nine-year veteran of the department who served overseas in the US Army.

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“Josh was a real servant,” Rowe said. “He epitomized the true law enforcement professional, especially here in Texas law enforcement.”

Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Judy Arrington, who represents Texas’s 19th congressional district, reacted to Bartlett’s death on Twitter.

He was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Sergeant, Mayor of Lubbock County. Josh Bartlett.

Please join me and Heidi in raising the sergeant. Bartlett and his family in prayer.

And please continue to pray for the brave officers injured in the line of duty today. https://t.co/1HuSTGQ8SN

– Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) July 16, 2021

I ask the people of West Texas to pray for the sergeant’s family. Josh Bartlett of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, who was tragically killed in the line of duty today.

May God bless all of today’s shooting victims, their families and our community at this difficult time.

– Representative Judy Arrington (@RepArrington) July 16, 2021

It was not immediately clear what prompted the man to open fire or break into the house. Garcia said the confrontation culminated in a chain of events that began at 11:17 a.m. Thursday when a policeman was stopping traffic.

“During that traffic connection, he had a separate person who was driving recklessly and, as we were informed, seemed to be trying to lure him into some sort of confrontation,” Garcia said.

At 1:12 p.m. Thursday, Garcia said, Levelland Police received a tip-off that the complainant’s neighbor “was acting strangely and was walking around with what appeared to be a large handgun.” The oncoming officers decided that the neighbor’s pickup truck matched the description given by the soldier to the vehicle with the driver looking provocative at the wheel.

Garcia said investigators believe the man was alone in the house. Garcia said a police negotiator, concerned about the news that the man was armed, tried to open conversations with the suspect, who was hostile and did not want to discuss. Moments later, the suspect opened the front door of the house and opened fire on the Levelland officers. “We responded with fire, but it doesn’t look like we hit the suspect at the time,” the official said.

Backups were called from the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Squad and Hockley County Sheriff’s Office. “It wasn’t long after that that we fired extra shots and had wounded officers,” Garcia said.

The hospital where Lubbock County’s deputy died, Covenant Health Levelland, is less than a mile from the standoff site and has placed itself on lockdown “to ensure the safety of our patients, caregivers and visitors” and has deployed additional security officers to the hospital. hospital.

Media at the scene reported that gunfire was ongoing throughout the standoff, and nearby residents were urged to leave their homes. Garcia said some of those who refused to leave were advised to stay in the back of their homes and stay low.

Garcia said police, deputies and other emergency crews from across the region responded to the incident, along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other federal agencies. Rangers will lead the investigation after the confrontation ends.

Levelland is the county seat of Hockley County and a local oil, cotton, and livestock center with approximately 13,500 residents.

Lubbock’s Avalanche Journal reported that Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish said county flags would be flown over half of the staff in Bartlett’s honor.

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