Wylie police say they are investigating an officer-involved shooting Wednesday morning where a man was fatally shot as the officer tried to provide medical aid to an injured woman.
Wylie police said officers were called to a vehicle crash at the CVS Pharmacy at the intersection of West Kirby Street and Texas 78 at about 2:26 a.m.
An officer happened to be in the parking lot on an unrelated traffic stop nearby when he discovered the bizarre scene involving the crashed truck.
“[The officer] noticed a female laying in the parking lot who suffered from a severe injury. He also noticed a male suspect holding a rifle,” said Wylie PD spokesman Sgt. Donald English. “[The officer] gives the male orders to obey because obviously he knows the woman is injured. He does not obey those commands. The officer takes a shot trying to get to the woman to give aid to her.”
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The officer in question has been on the force for seven years and was wearing a body camera, according to English.
When pressed about what exactly led the officer to open fire and whether the suspect raised his rifle toward the officer, English responded: “I’m not sure exactly at what point, if he raised, he was holding the rifle. He was considered a threat to that female and to that officer.”
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The officer’s actions are being investigated within the Wylie Police Department and by the Texas Rangers.
Responding officers and EMS personnel pronounced both the man and woman dead at the scene. Their identities have not yet been released and the woman's cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
Police believe the man and woman were involved in a domestic violence disturbance inside the truck, prior to the crash. Their relationship is not known.
Video captured from Texas Sky Ranger showed a dark-colored pickup truck crashed through the exterior brick wall of the store.
The truck was towed from the scene nearly 12 hours after the incident, leaving behind a gaping hole near the store's pharmacy drive-thru.
There were a number of employees in the store at the time of the crash, though no one was injured.
Scott Mixson, is the general manager at the nearby O’Reilly Auto Part store and saw the suspect’s lifeless body at the scene early this morning.
“He was leaning against the wall. I didn’t see any wounds or anything. But he was deceased,” said Mixson. “It’s not something you want to see any time.”
The Texas Rangers released the following statement to NBC 5:
"At the request of the Wiley Police Department, Texas Rangers have been requested to investigate an officer involved incident. The investigation is ongoing and no additional information is currently available."
