Suicidal man killed in shootout with Fort Worth police

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A suicidal man was killed during a shootout with Fort Worth police early Wednesday.

The Fort Worth Police Department said officers first got a call about the man, later identified as Daniel Geiger, 32, around 3 a.m. Police in Florida said family members were concerned because of what they saw on social media.

The man was reportedly live on video on a social media platform talking about suicide and making some threats, according to his family. His sister said Geiger came to North Texas last week to pay his respects to his father, who had recently died. They say he suffered from some anger issues don't know what sparked his suicidal tirade.

Florida authorities called police in Fort Worth to alert them that family members were worried for his safety. Fort Worth officers were then able to track the man down based on the video and a geo location tag.

When the officers made contact, police said the man fired shots toward them. A pursuit that involved gunfire ensued. The chase ended at Berry and Main streets near Interstate 35W in Fort Worth, where more gunfire was exchanged.

Police don’t yet know exactly how the man died – whether it was a bullet from his own weapon or those of the officers. There were several weapons recovered from Geiger’s vehicle.

“First and foremost what I want to express is that we’ve had a loss of life out here today and that’s something that we never want as a police department. We are very relieved that none of our officers were injured in this incident but we do have a suspect in this case that is deceased,” said Sgt. Chris Britt with the Fort Worth Police Department.

Although no officers were injured, police said some were shaken up. Peer support will be available to them because of the traumatizing situation.

“Number one, they were actually shot at first and foremost. Also, having to use deadly force against somebody is nothing any officer wants to do,” Britt said. “Some of that emotional trauma can take some time to manifest itself and we don’t want to lose officers due to basically them going out to doing the job that the public expects them to do.”

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine if Geiger fatally shot himself or was killed by one of the police officers.