Off-duty Plano officer shoots back at group trying to break into his car, police say

DALLAS - An off-duty Plano police officer was involved in a shootout Tuesday morning at an apartment complex near White Rock Lake in Dallas. Investigators say he caught a group of people breaking into his car, and they fired first.

Residents say they’re not surprised someone was messing with a car because several were broken into a couple weeks ago. But they were surprised to hear gunshots in the complex. 

Plano police say around 4 a.m., an off-duty officer received a notification on his phone that someone was messing with his personal vehicle. It was parked at the Winsted at White Rock Lake apartments in the Lakewood neighborhood.

Police say when he went to check on it, he found a group of people trying to break into his vehicle. 

This was around the same time Jay Wilcher was leaving for a run.

"I was walking out the front of the apartment complex, and I heard a couple of gunshots. It sounded like and some shattering glass," he recalled.

Police say someone in the group fired at the off-duty officer, and he fired back. The officer wasn’t hit. It’s unclear if he struck one of the burglars. They ran off.

"I didn’t have my phone on me just because I was running," Whilcher said. "I probably would have called the police, but then really quickly cops started rolling in here."

Wilcher said this isn’t the first time people were breaking into cars at the complex. 

"People’s cars have gotten broken into plenty of times. Mine got broken into two weeks ago with three other people over there." 

Wilcher says he wasn't surprised people were able to easily get inside. 

"A lot of the time, the gates are open, and they’re just sitting open," he said.

FOX 4 reached out to the apartment complex about the security measures and asked if the gate was open around 4 a.m. We haven’t heard back. 

"We chose it because we thought it was safe. I know my wife doesn’t feel safe anymore really after that, and I understand why," Wilcher said.

Plano police didn't say the name of the off-duty officer, but they did say he’s been with the department for more than two years. 

Dallas police don't have any suspects and have not released any descriptions at this time.