Authorities said they are investigating after an off-duty Dallas County deputy constable tried to break up a fight and shot at a man early Friday morning. [[304684571,C]]
Dallas Police Department Deputy Chief Gil Garza said manager at the Draft House in the 3900 block of Rosemeade Parkway forced several people to leave because of a disturbance at about 2 a.m. The manager then notified the deputy constable — who was in uniform working security for the area.
The deputy constable found two of the men originally in the draft house still fighting outside, Garza said. The constable tried to stop a man from beating on a car with another man inside.
While stop the man from hitting the car, Garza said the deputy constable heard a gunshot and took cover.
"The suspect was armed and the deputy constable was giving verbal commands to drop the weapon," Garza said. "As a result of that, he was forced to discharge his weapon."
Tareq Statieh, co-owner of nearby Zio Al's Pizza & Pasta, said he heard two men shouting outside. He said a third man yelled to "drop the gun" just before he heard a gunshot and saw a bullet crash through his front window.
"I saw a police officer right next to one of the cars and he was telling the guy to drop the gun," he said. "But I didn't see the officer shoot."
It is not yet known if the man inside the car was shot, but he was transported to a nearby hospital with injuries that Garza said were not life threatening.
Police said the other man involved in the altercation fled the scene.
The deputy constable was not injured.
NBC 5's Jeff Smith contributed to this report.
