Texas officer killed, 4 others injured in deadlock

A Texas sheriff’s sergeant was killed and four other officers were injured when a barricaded man in a house shot at them in a standoff Thursday, police said.

Police in Levelland, west of Lubbock, were called home shortly after 1 p.m. after someone reported their neighbor was acting strangely and walking around with a big gun, Police Chief Albert said Garcia.

The officers restrained themselves and a police negotiator was called. Police made contact, but the man inside “was very unfriendly” and said he did not want to speak to officers, Garcia said.

“It was only a matter of minutes after this contact that the suspect opened the front door of the residence and started shooting,” Garcia said.

Lubbock County Sheriff’s Sgt. Josh Bartlett, commander of the SWAT team, was gunned down shortly after 2 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.

Four other law enforcement officers were injured, authorities said. The most seriously injured is a policeman from Levelland who was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery, Garcia said. This officer was released from surgery and was in critical condition but was stable, he said.

The situation of deadlock and barricade continued Thursday evening. The suspect has not been identified.

Police don’t believe there is anyone other than the gunman in the house, Garcia said.

Police from other agencies, as well as the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI, have helped, he said.

Garcia called it a violent and volatile situation, and he said people should avoid the area.

The authorities know who is inside the house.

“Have we ever had any contact with this person? Yes, we do. He is known to our agencies,” Hockley County Sheriff Ray Scifres said, but declined to give further details.

The barricaded man may have encountered a Texas Highway Patrol soldier earlier today, Garcia said.

The soldier reported that around 11 a.m. he was at a traffic stop when a person driving recklessly in a white Chevy truck “appeared to be trying to drag him into some kind of confrontation,” Garcia said.

This driver appeared to be heading towards Levelland and the police searched for the truck but could not find it. When officers arrived at the house, they saw the pickup that had been reported in the driveway, Garcia said.

Bartlett, who had worked in the Sheriff’s Department for nine years, had a wife and children, and was an Army veteran who had toured several overseas, Lubbock County Sheriff Kelly Rowe said.

“Our hearts, my heart and I know the whole country is with his wife and children tonight,” Rowe said.