Two Dallas Officers Shot in Midst of Chaotic Winter Storm, SWAT Dispatched
Two Dallas Police officers were shot Thursday morning while responding to a shooting call, according to the chief of the Dallas Police Department.
The officers responded to a shooting call around 11 a.m. near North Henderson Avenue in Old East Dallas, where police say the suspect threatened to harm his wife, according to KXAS-TV.
A Special Weapons and Tactics team was dispatched and police asked people to stay away from the area.
There is an active police scene in the 5300 block of Bonita Avenue. SWAT is enroute and we asking everyone to stay away from the area. @DPDChiefGarcia
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) February 18, 2021
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said two of his officers were shot and asked the community for prayers.
“We’ve had two officers shot responding to a shooting call, prayers up please!” he tweeted.
We’ve had two officers shot responding to a shooting call, prayers up please! @DallasPD . https://t.co/8fky804q2E
— Eddie Garcia (@DPDChiefGarcia) February 18, 2021
The officers had injuries to their lower legs and were hospitalized, but Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata said they were in stable condition, KXAS reported.
Garcia thanked Dallas Fire-Rescue for assisting police with providing cover while the wounded officers were extracted from the scene.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the outstanding effort and split second decision of Dallas Fire Rescue @DallasFireRes_q , for providing cover to our wounded as they were extracted. Now THAT is true teamwork. Appreciate you!
— Eddie Garcia (@DPDChiefGarcia) February 18, 2021
Authorities are still searching for the suspect. No other details about the incident were available at the time of publication.
The incident came as a historic winter storm ravaged Texas, leaving millions without power and water.
There were over 494,000 power outages in Texas as of Thursday morning, according to NPR.
Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across Texas were also dealing with burst pipes Thursday and have been ordered to boil water for safety as water utilities deal with frozen wells and treatment-plant power failures, The New York Times reported.
“We have been caught in the middle of something here where there have been individuals who have not had electricity or power for about 3 1/2 days now [and] it’s zero degrees,” Mansfield, Texas, Mayor Michael Evans told NPR.
In light of the outages, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for top executives at the state’s grid operator to resign.
“Every source of power the state of Texas has access to has been compromised because of the ultra-cold temperature or because of the equipment failures,” he said.
Although the weather is supposed to gradually climb above freezing in the daytime, partial melting and refreezing at night could lead to icy ruts in the road known as “cobblestone ice,” KXAS-TV reported.
The worst of the weather is behind us, but the worst of the road conditions is still to come as we enter a daily cycle of partial melting and refreezing. This means more black ice and bumpy ruts through Saturday. Drive safe or not at all if you can wait.#dfwwx #ctxwx pic.twitter.com/KsaIzBr8cF
— NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) February 17, 2021
The National Weather Service cautioned residents to drive safely or avoid the roads entirely.
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