Dallas police officer shoots suspect who rammed stolen U-Haul into police vehicle
DALLAS - A police shootout on the edge of Dallas Love Field property started with a stolen U-Haul.
The police chief says the situation turned violent Tuesday when the U-Haul driver realized he was being watched by police.
It involved the Community Response Team, a specialized group investigating organized criminal and drug activity.
The CRT unit had its eyes on the stolen U-Haul and was following it initially in Northwest Dallas.
Police say the driver crashed in the 7100 block of Lemmon Avenue after running from police on the tollway, ramming one of the department’s undercover vehicles and other civilian vehicles along the way.
It happened near the Frontiers of Flight Museum and across the street from a car dealership. After getting out of the truck, the suspect ran towards a building near Love Field.
Bob Jackson watched the scene unfold from his store parking lot on Lemmon Avenue.
"He jumped out of the truck and started running across Lemmon Avenue and ran inside toward the flight museum, and the police were right behind him," he recalled.
Police say while officers were running after the suspect, he pulled out a gun and shot at officers. They fired back, hitting the suspect in the leg.
Jackson hid behind a tree for safety.
"I mean it was frightening, and I was hiding because I thought I could get hurt out here."
After the suspect was taken into custody, employees of Jackson’s store helped people who crashed as a result of the police chase.
"We took water out to the other people. There was probably six or seven people that were in the wrecks," he said.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia did not say if anyone else was injured. He did not share the condition of the officers involved either.
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It’s unclear if there was anything inside the stolen U-Haul.
Garcia did not say whether his officers recovered a weapon.