Two Fort Worth police officers are on administrative leave after using deadly force early Wednesday when responding to a call about an active shooter.
The officers say the man, later identified as 31-year-old Reginald McGregor, was shooting at them and others outside a home in the 200 block of North Retta Street just after 2 a.m.[[300900941,C]]
Police said before they arrived, an intruder with a handgun was confronted by a man inside the home. There was a struggle over the weapon and, as officers arrived, the McGregor came around the side of the home, firing at them.
Samuel Maceyra, who lives in the duplex where the shooting happened, said his wife woke him up and said shots were being fired in the adjoining duplex where his brother lives. Maceyra said he could hear fighting through the door and called 911.
"I move away and come into my mom's bedroom where she is at and I hear them break the door and come into my side," Maceyra said. "And when I turn around they're there fist fighting with each other."
Maceyra ran outside so he could hear the dispatcher.
"I’m talking to the dispatcher and, as I'm talking to them, I hear gunshots in my house," he said. "I was like, 'Oh, my kids, my babies, my wife and my mom!'"
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Maceyra's brother came out the front door and McGregor came around the side of the house shooting at them just as police arrived.
"The come out with the rifles and telling us to 'Get down, get down,' and I came right here with my hands like this and [saying], 'My babies, my babies!' I was scared," Maceyra said.
Maceyra said both officers fired multiple shots.
"After they done hit him multiple times, I see that guy raise up like this, and that’s when the officers finished him off I guess," Maceyra said.
Bullets from the shootout pierced vehicles, fences and even a neighbor's home. They told NBC 5 bullets went through their headboard and mattress where they were sleeping along with a 5-year-old girl.
Fort Worth police say they were forced to shoot.
"The officers are very concerned for the citizens, not only the ones involved, but also the ones not involved, and they're also concerned for their own safety," Fort Worth Police Department Sgt. Steve Enright said.
Enright said there is dash camera video of the incident and police reviewed security footage captured by nearby home surveillance systems, but the officers’ body cameras were not rolling.
"Both were equipped with body cams, however, due to the instant nature of the offense – the minute they pulled up there [was] actually a gunfight in the street – they didn't have time to activate their cameras," Enright said.
No officers were injured. The two officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave pending an investigation.
NBC 5's Jeff Smith and Todd L. Davis contributed to this report.
