An investigation is underway in Fort Worth Tuesday after police officers shot and killed a man while responding to a residential burglary alarm.
Officers were called to 409 Havenwood Lane shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday for the burglary call.
When officers arrived, they said they were confronted by a man armed with a handgun and, fearing for their safety, fatally shot him, police said.
Former Fort Worth city councilwoman Becky Haskin lives in the neighborhood and told NBC 5 that shortly after 1 a.m. she heard five gunshots. She said she immediately went to the scene, saw officers looking for bullet casings and learned that it was her neighbor, identified by the Tarrant County medical examiner as 72-year-old Jerry Waller, who had been shot and killed.
Haskin said she has power-of-attorney for the woman who lives at the home where the alarm went off and that the alarm was triggered accidentally. Haskin said there was never any burglar and that the shooting is a "tragic accident."
According to tax records, Waller lived at the home across the street from the home where the alarm was triggered. Waller's place of death, according to the medical examiner, was in his garage.
The Fort Worth police have yet to confirm Haskin's statements and would only say the investigation is ongoing.
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Fort Worth Public Information Officer Sgt. Kelly Peel did say early Tuesday morning that the officers who responded to the alarm call were wearing police uniforms and were driving marked police vehicles.
The officer-involved shooting is being investigated by Fort Worth's Major Case Unit and the officers involved have been placed on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
The officers and the homeowner were not injured.
NBC 5's Chris Van Horne, Kendra Lyn and Greg Janda contributed to this report.
