Man with machete shot after lunging at Garland officers

GARLAND, Texas - A man with a machete was shot after Garland police said he lunged at officers with the weapon.

The shooting happened Monday afternoon in the 1400 block of South Third Street.

Garland police said they got a call around 3:30 p.m. about a man swinging a machete at passing vehicles in the area.

When officers arrived, police said 38-year-old Scott Norris started holding the machete to his neck. Responding officers found him standing in the front lawn of a home, pacing back and forth.

William Walker told FOX 4 his brother, who recently moved to North Texas from Ohio, has a mental illness. He said he tried telling the officers that is brother is schizophrenic but he said they kept their guns drawn.

Walker said the incident started out as an argument between Norris and his fiancé. She took off and that’s when he grabbed the machete.

At times during the two-hour-long standoff, police said Norris put the machete to his throat and told them they’d have to kill him before he eventually lunged at the officers.

“During the initial investigation and talking to the officers, it didn’t appear that he was making a lot of sense in communication. But once again we got our SWAT negotiator on scene trying to communicate with him and ultimately trying to get them to surrender his weapon,” said Garland Police Lt. Pedro Barineau. “Unfortunately, the situation turned a different way. This person ended up charging the officer with the machete in hand, which ultimately led to the officer fearing for his life and firing his weapon.”

Scott Norris (Garland Jail)

Walker said his brother is known to carry a machete with him for protection since he is paranoid. But he doesn’t believe his brother wanted to hurt anyone. Sadly, he thinks his brother just wanted to take his own life.

“He was up by the house. You can tell by where they were shooting. I have three bullet holes in my house where he was standing. I don’t see how he lunged at an officer from that far away,” he said.

Norris was treated and released from the hospital and was booked into the Garland jail. He is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a public servant.

The officer who shot Norris is an 8-year veteran. He will be placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which is standard protocol.