Investigation continuing into officer-involved shooting of man armed with rifle in Richland Hills

RICHLAND HILLS, Texas - Richland Hills police are continuing their investigation into the officer-involved shooting Friday afternoon that resulted in the death of a man who police said was armed with a rifle.

The name of the suspect who was fatally shot has still not been released by police or the medical examiner’s office.

On top of that, police remain tight-lipped about what led to this shooting as many questions remain unanswered.

This started just after 3 p.m. Friday, and surveillance footage from neighbors shows a man running and screaming, "Call the police! He’s got a gun!"

Additional home surveillance footage appears to show a man with a rifle chasing after the other man.

RELATED: Richland Hills officers fatally shoot man with rifle

Police were then dispatched to the 7000 block of Hardisty Street about a man shooting a firearm in the street.

"I peeked out and looked out the front window and I saw a guy running down the street with a gun, so my first reaction was to tell my kids to get on the floor. We were hiding in the kitchen," a neighbor recalled.

The neighbor was with her 6 and 8-year-old boys. They hid inside their home, but the 8-year-old kept peeking out a window, hoping his family was safe.

"I was checking if there was anybody outside, and I went back into the kitchen," he said.

Shortly thereafter, police said the suspect ran a block away, toward Boulevard 26. The suspect raised and pointed the rifle at officers, according to police, and that’s when officers fired at the suspect and killed him. 

"A few minutes went by and we heard more pops, but in between that time, I tried calling the neighbors down the street to make sure, you know, they stay away from the windows and stuff," the neighbor recalled.

Joe Freitas was nearby at a bank parking lot.

"And he was running through that way with a gun in his hand — a rifle," he said.

He said an officer was there too.

"So then I saw a police officer right there and I sped up. When I sped up, I told him, I was like, ‘Listen, a male just went that way with a gun. I don’t know if it’s a B.B. gun or if it’s a rifle,’ and then he spun out, went down the road," he recalled. "A few seconds later, it just felt like gunfire, just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Felt like a war zone."

SKY 4 captured video of the rifle that is believed to be at the center of the investigation.

Police have not said what circumstances surrounded the initial shooting call, and they have not said who the person running from the suspect is.

There were no injuries reported other than the suspect.

The Texas Rangers will be investigating the officer-involved shooting.

It was a terrifying experience for the mother and her boys.

"He could’ve been anywhere, but the pops were really close by," she said. "He knows what happened and he still wonders is the bad guy coming back!"

As the community awaits answers, they hope to never experience anything like it again.

"I was just grabbing them and apologizing to them because this is their reality now," the neighbor said.

Neighbors said the neighborhood where this happened is usually quiet, and one woman she’s never encountered anything like this before in the seven years since she's lived there.