Killeen Police Shooting: Man Wielding AK47 Kills One Police Officer, Wounds Another

A Killeen police shooting has left one officer dead and another wounded after a suspect with an AK47 opened fire on officers.

The shooting took place late Saturday night in Killeen, Texas, directly adjacent to Fort Hood. It was the first deadly shooting involving a police officer there in more than 100 years, and has residents shaken.

“He killed the cop and I was scared because I have a two year old and it’s literally like a hundred yards from my house,” said witness Heather Lanham.

The Killeen police shooting happened after officers responded to a call of a man at the Grandon Manor Apartments who was threatening people with a gun. Police tried to negotiate with the suspect, who came to the door with his hands up but never left the building.

As police officers tried to apprehend the Killeen suspect, he fell back into the home and emerged with an AK47, shooting at officers.

After numerous shots fired, two officers were shot, one fatally.

“All of a sudden I hear a boom,” said Lanham. “It sounded like a gunshot. I heard more, several, like someone was spraying [gunfire] and I come outside and the cops were yelling at the gentleman that lived over there put it down, put it down, come out and then it went from there.”

The officers involved in the shooting were not named, but police officials remembered the deceased officer as a family man.

“It’s awful. This officer was a great officer,” said Killeen police spokeswoman Carroll Smith. “He was a friend, he was a good son, a good husband and a good father, a good brother, a great guy and he’s going to be missed deeply.”

The second officer, who had been shot in the leg, was said to be out of surgery on Sunday and recovering.

The Killeen police shooting suspect was also killed in the shootout.