Grapevine police arrest suspect after fiery crash, foot chase

A Grapevine police officer opened fire on a suspected vehicle thief who police say struck a marked police vehicle and drove toward officers.

After the shot was fired, police say the driver crashed. They say he ran off on foot but was later caught.

23-year-old Keyvionte Henderson of Dallas was arrested on Tuesday night.

Police were called to the parking garage of the Jefferson Silverlake Apartments on State Highway 26 for someone reportedly trying to break into multiple vehicles.

When officers arrived and confronted the suspect, Henderson hopped into his car and crashed into a marked patrol car and another parked car.

Police say Henderson then drove right at two officers. One of the officers, who police say was fearing for their life, then fired their weapon at the suspect.

Henderson then crashed into a transformer, which caught fire. He then ran away from the car and was chased by police officers on foot.

"And the flames were shooting up in the air like 20 feet high," recalled Grace Kirkland, who lives at the Jefferson Silverlake Apartments, "And I know that he took off on foot and was that way. So it was a little scary."

Twelve officers responded and six searched a wooded area before Henderson was found at Cowboys Golf Course.

"It was freezing cold, and they were running, and the officers had no idea this wooded area where the suspect was," said Amanda McNew with the Grapevine Police Department. "And it really took a lot of teamwork and communication from officers of where they were, where they were going, to be able to surround this area and zero in on the suspect."

Henderson was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries and then transported to jail.

The department says it has not received confirmation from doctors if Henderson was only injured from the crash or also shot. There’s some type of foreign object in his shoulder.

"I have no doubt that this was justified based on the information that I have," McNew said. "The car was going forward toward the officer and actually turned toward the officer — intentionally, it looked like."

Keyvionte Henderson

Those living in this complex are glad Tuesday’s incident was not worse.

"My husband’s car was parked right there, so it’s always like nerve-wracking that someone’s flying out of the parking garage. Could hit him or his car if he’s getting out of it. Or if there’s shots fired, someone can get shot," Kirkland said.

Henderson has a criminal history in Dallas County. He’s pled guilty to burglary of a vehicle and felony theft in which he stole a woman’s cell phone out of her hand in a parking lot. 

The 23-year-old is charged with aggravated assault against a public servant, evading arrest/detention, evading arrest/detention with a vehicle, duty on striking unattended vehicle and accident involving damage to a vehicle.

Per department protocol, the officer who fired their weapon was placed on administrative leave, with pay, while the incident is under investigation.