Arlington police fatally shoot armed suspect after reports of suspicious man at apartment complex

Arlington, Texas - An armed man who was reportedly looking into cars in an apartment complex parking lot was fatally shot by Arlington police.

The deadly shooting happened around 9 p.m. on Monday at the Blakey Apartments in the 1400 block of E. Lamar Boulevard.

Arlington PD Chief of Staff Lt. Courtney White said officers were responding to calls about a suspicious man. The caller said he was looking into vehicles and possibly had a firearm.

When officers arrived, they found 34-year-old Tony Coward lying on his back on the hood of one of the vehicles. They could see a handgun on his side as he sat up, Lt. White said. He allegedly ignored the officers’ commands and pointed the gun at the officers.

"This was a deadly force situation," she said. "This male, unfortunately, did raise his firearm at our officers who had identified themselves multiple times. And in return, those officers did fire their service weapons."

Two officers fired shots, striking Coward multiple times. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

Police said Coward did have relatives who lived at the apartment complex, so that may have been why he was there.

Officers have dealt with him in the past for theft, criminal trespassing, public intoxication, and some mental health issues, according to arrest records. However, nothing in the past involved violent crime.

It’s not yet clear if he fired his weapon at the officers, but they were not hurt.

"Our officers are trained to de-escalate situations because it's nobody's desire to want to come to work and have to deal with a deadly force situation," White said. "It’s just, unfortunately, that due to the subject's actions that it led to this."

The two officers who fired shots will both be placed on leave pending the outcome of a routine criminal and internal affairs investigation.