Fort Worth

Officer Fatally Shoots Armed Man After Attempted Carjacking, Chief Says

Fort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes said the officer gave multiple commands for the man to drop his weapon

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A Fort Worth police officer fatally shot a man who pointed a gun at the officer after an attempted carjacking Sunday, authorities say.

The shooting happened when officers responded to the attempted carjacking in the 400 block of Fairview Street at 1:35 p.m., Fort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes said Sunday night.

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Noakes said the suspect, identified Monday by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner as 31-year-old Ryan O'Neal Williams, fled on foot when witnesses tried to help the people inside the car.

An officer who responded, who has been with the department for four years, located Williams in the 3600 block of Race Street, Noakes said.

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The location is just north of State Highway 121, east of downtown Fort Worth.

Fort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes says an officer fatally shot an armed man after an attempted carjacking Sunday afternoon.

As the officer approached Williams, Noakes said he pulled a handgun and pointed it at the officer.

Noakes said the officer gave commands for Williams to drop the weapon several times and when he did not, the officer shot him.

"He jumped out and yelled, 'Stop, stop, stop and then I heard the gunshots," witness Scott Ross said. "Then at that point I ran in the house and told my wife and daughter to get inside."

Williams was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Noakes said.

The officer involved in the incident has been placed on administrative leave, the chief added.

The department released a portion of the body camera footage on Monday.

"This is a critical time in our country right now. Across the country, we're seeing incidents that are causing anger, that are causing hurt," Noakes said. "We have a trial going on right now, we have a very recent incident that happened in another part of the country. What we want the community in Fort Worth to know is that we're committed to serving them with professionalism, we're committed to serving them the way that they deserve to be served. And throughout this investigation, we plan to prove that we're going to do just that. We thank them for their patience and the trust they have in us and we're going to do our best to earn even more."

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