A Kemp man who was shot and killed at a Garland Wal-Mart after allegedly attacking on off-duty officer was also wanted in the assault and carjacking of an 82-year-old woman.
Police said Casey Smith, 31, tried to attack an off-duty officer working security with a crowbar when he was caught shoplifting early Sunday morning. The officer at the Wal-Mart in the 1800 block of Marketplace Drive shot Smith, who later died at a Dallas hospital.
"He left the officer no other choice," Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said. "What we thought was going to be a simple shoplifting case ... ended up becoming dangerous."
The off-duty officer had tried to stop Smith with a stun gun after stopping him.
"That's when he turned, came to the officer in a threatening manner, trying to assault him with a crowbar," Harn said. "That's when the officer went to deadly force."
A day earlier, Henderson County sheriff's deputies had issued a robbery warrant for Smith in connection with a carjacking in Eustace.
The Henderson County Sheriff's Office said it had chased Smith before he came to Garland. At one point, Smith backed into a Eustace Police Department car.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"There was also a run-in with the police there," Harn said. "There had been some crimes committed the day before that we didn't know about at the time, but our investigators are continuing to follow up to see what all led up to this."
The carjacking victim's car was found in the parking lot of the Garland Wal-Mart where Smith was shot.
According to Henderson County records, Smith had a long criminal history of thefts and robbery.
