Wanted fugitive kills bounty hunter before shooting himself, Garland police say

Garland officers involved in fatal shooting of fugitive and bail bondsman

An agent for a bail bond company was killed and so was the wanted man he was searching for. Garland police say their officers also fired shots as the suspect took his own life.

GARLAND, Texas - Garland police said a man who killed a bounty hunter in a motel room Thursday night shot himself at the same time officers fired at him.

It all happened a little after 7:30 p.m., when police said several private investigators were attempting to serve a felony warrant on someone in a motel room on Broadway Boulevard.

Private bounty hunters were trying to capture 33-year-old Juan Carlos Lopez on child sex assault warrants.

Video from a FOX 4 viewer shows what appears to be a couple of the private investigators, including one with a long gun, outside the motel room.

Customers evacuated nearby rooms.

Garland police officers were in the parking lot as back-up and heard the gunfire. They realized one of the private investigators, or bail bonds agent, had been shot inside the second-floor motel room.

The video then shows a team of Garland officers entering the room to rescue the private investigator who’d been shot. Those officers encountered the armed suspect.

Garland police said the officers commanded Lopez to drop his gun. Instead, police said he raised the gun and shot himself in the head. Three Garland police officers simultaneously fired their weapons.

"These people were trying to serve a warrant. One person was shot and killed doing their duties and unfortunately another person's life was taken. It's very unfortunate when any life is taken regardless of what the circumstances are," said Lt. Pedro Barineau with the Garland Police Department.

Police initially said the suspect, who shot and killed the private investigator, was fatally shot by police. They have since clarified that the officers fired shots at the suspect after he raised his gun and shot himself in the head.

Lopez was pronounced dead on scene.

The man he shot was rushed to a hospital and later died. The name of the private investigator who was killed has not yet been released.

On the other side of Lopez's room, a father and his four children took shelter behind their bed.

Photos show bullet holes piercing straight through the refrigerator and the shower.

"This is not an everyday occurrence," Barineau said. "This is something that doesn’t happen very often at all."

Court records show Lopez was charged with multiple counts of child sex assault.

Those offenses reportedly happened in 2019.

Records also show a 2021 child endangerment charge.

He’d been booked into the Denton County jail in April 2021 nd he posted bond five months later.

It’s unclear if the warrants being served were due to a bond violation on the previous charges or if there were new charges.

Garland police said the three officers who discharged their weapons will be placed on paid administrative leave while the district attorney’s office investigates the incident, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings.