The Texas Rangers have been called in to investigate a shooting involving a Denton police officer during a hostage situation early Saturday morning.
Police say they received a call around 1:30 a.m. of a man reporting he wanted to kill himself due to "problems" with a woman.
When officers arrived at the Vibe Apartment Homes in the 1600 block of E. McKinney Street police say they saw a man holding a knife to a woman as he gripped her around the neck with his arm and that several times he raised the knife in a stabbing motion.
Denton police chief Frank Dixon said officers tried to deescalate the situation, but it was apparent the man would not release the hostage. The hostage taker would raise his knife up to the woman "almost in a stabbing motion" several times, Chief Dixon said.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
"Our officer in particular that was attempting to deescalate and communicate with the hostage taker did a tremendous job in staying calm in trying to engage him, trying to really connect with him on a human level," Dixon said Saturday.
When he raised the knife to the woman, one officer fired one round and struck the man in the upper torso.
The uninjured hostage was taken to a safe location.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
The man fell to the ground and was still holding the knife, so police say officers deployed a taser to disarm him. The man was taken to the hospital where he died a short time later. His identity is not being released pending family notification.
Crime scene tape remained at portions of the complex for hours Saturday. Celeste Singleton has lived at The Vibe for 10 years.
"We’ve never seen anything like this at all. Occasional loud music or something like that but never anything like this," Singleton said.
Dixon asked for the community's prayers on Saturday morning for the officers involved, along with both the hostage and hostage taker.
"He is somebody’s brother, somebody’s son," he said. "This is the type of work that police officers across the country are faced with on a daily basis. It’s nothing that a police officer wants to do. No police officer wants to come to work and have to take a life but unfortunately, sometimes you have to take a life to save a life."
Dixon said at this point, the relationship between the hostage and the hostage taker are unclear. It is also unknown whether they live in the complex.
No officers were injured and the Texas Rangers are investigating. The officer who fired his weapon is a three-year veteran of the Denton Police Department. Per department policy, the officer is on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the investigation.
