Irving police fatally shoot man who drove through traffic barricade, brandished a knife

IRVING, Texas - Irving police officers shot and killed a man they say was armed with a knife after that man plowed through a traffic barricade and led officers on a chase.

It happened at about 11 a.m., near President George Bush Turnpike and Las Colinas Boulevard.

Highway Patrol was already working a fiery crash involving an 18-wheeler from earlier Wednesday morning.

Irving police were called in to assist with traffic control, establishing a barricade for safety.

Irving Police Chief Derick Miller said what happened next was completely unexpected.

"A vehicle, at a high rate of speed, burst through the barricade. There were two officers stationed. They are trying to protect the public. They gave chase behind that vehicle," Miller said. "The occupant of that vehicle exited his vehicle and got on foot and started moving down the grass shoulder. When he did so, he exited his vehicle with a knife in his hand."

Investigators said the officers then followed the man on foot and tried to de-escalate the situation, asking the suspect multiple times to drop the knife.

It was the last thing Sean McDonnell, his wife, and their kids expected to see on their way to Six Flags.

"As we got to the other side of the light, we saw that police officer with his gun drawn pointing at somebody," he recalled. "He went right through the cones. Right in between. You could see the car jolt to the left between the two cops and took off at a high speed."

A knife, that resembles a box-cutter, was seen next to an evidence marker in the aftermath.

"The suspect turned around and moved toward the officers. The officer, continually trying to de-escalate the situation, was forced back into a vehicle," Miller explained. "It was at the point where the suspect would not listen to any of the officer’s commands. All attempts at de-escalation apparently didn’t work because the person continued to come toward the officer. The officer discharged his service weapon, striking the subject several times."

The officer who fired several shots, killing the man, is a 15-year department veteran.

"What we’re trying to do now is figure out who this person was. What happened to cause him to do this. He had several opportunities to during this entire event to make a personal decision not to do what happened," Miller said. "We’ve got to figure out why he burst through the barricade at a very high rate of speed. We have to figure out why he wouldn’t heed the officer’s attempts for de-escalation and drop the knife. So there’s many things we have to try to figure out."

It is unclear how many shots the officer fired with his service weapon. The chief would only say more than one.

There is a criminal investigation underway, as well as an internal affairs review to sort out the details.