An East Dallas homeowner was killed in an officer-involved shooting Thursday night after he allegedly shot and killed a man he said broke into his garage.
Police said officers had to shoot and kill William Hall, 57, because he refused to drop his gun.
Investigators said Hall grabbed a gun and shot Jerry Wayne Hale, 30, when the man and his girlfriend tried to burglarize Hall's home in the 10000 block of Sandra Lynn Drive. Hall shot Hale in the alley behind his home, police said.
Neighbors reported hearing gunfire in an alley off of Plummer Drive at about 7:45 p.m.
"I heard a pop, so I ducked, and then I was like, 'That's gunfire,'" Juan Garcia said. "I had seen a guy in the alley laying down screaming for his life. Then, I see an old man with no shirt pointing a gun."
Witness Can Be Heard Pleading for Burglary Suspect's Life
Dallas police released a 911 call made by a witness who warned other bystanders to stay away.
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"Your neighbor just shot somebody," the caller can be heard saying. "Get back. Get back. Go back. Go back -- your neighbor's got a gun."
The caller can be heard asking the shooter if the man is alive and if he planned to shoot him again. The caller also told the 911 call-taker, "He says he's going to shoot him again."
"No, don't shoot him," the caller can be heard saying. "Leave him alone. Police are on the way."
Witnesses also told NBC DFW that Hall threatened to shoot Hale again after he was down.
"The homeowner did not back down," David Humphrey said. "He was in his face and was fixing to pull the trigger again, put the gun right to his head. I was hollering at him, saying, 'Please, don't kill him. Don't shoot him.'"
Humphrey, a handyman who had been working on a nearby home, said Hall turned the gun on him when he ran over to help the bleeding man.
"He cocked the gun back and stuck it right in my face," he said.
Humphrey said Hall told him, "Get away, get away, I'm fixing to kill him."
Humphrey said that when he told Hall that he had called the police, Hall replied, "I'll shoot them, too."
Police, Witnesses Say Homeowner Refused to Drop Weapon
The responding officers went to the alley to investigate. Three independent witnesses heard the them loudly tell Hall to drop his weapon, police said.
Garcia said police yelled "put it down, put it down."
"He didn't want to put it down," he said. "I heard the cock. He pointed it at them. The cops shot him."
Police said that three officers fired in defense when Hall pointed his gun at police. Hall was shot multiple times and died instantly.
Hale was shot only once but died during the altercation. Paramedics were kept away during the brief standoff with police.
Investigators Describe Homeowner as "Hoarder"
Police described Hall's residence as a "hoarder's home."
"He's a recluse. He's unemployed," Maj. Jeff Cotner said. "I already kind of mentioned his house is unclean, unkempt, disheveled. It's a hoarder's home."
Sunny Orly Coffman, the neighborhood's crime watch captain, said she and her husband were friends with the homeowner, whom she described as a loner.
"Our heart went out to him, because we just thought he was disturbed," she said.
Neighbors told NBC DFW that someone had broken into Hall's property earlier this month.
Coffman said he had booby-trapped his house for burglars and believes Thursday's alleged break-in could have pushed him over the edge.
"There were chains spread out here-and-there and ropes spread out here-and-there -- just all kinds of things you would have to stumble over or would stop you, because he had this tremendous fear that someone was going to break in his house and steal his goods," she said.
No officers were injured. The Dallas Police Department is investigating to determine whether the shooting was justified.
NBC DFW's Greg Janda, Kendra Lyn and Randy McIlwain contributed to this report.
