WACO — A grand jury has cleared an officer involved in a fatal shooting.
Police said they responded to a call about a disturbance at the Deluxe Inn in the 1400 block of Interstate 35 around 10 p.m. on March 1.
Waco police said that a suspect, armed with a knife, had damaged his room and was attempting to gain access to another room.
As officers approached the man, he refused to drop the knife and ran away from the officer. The suspect ran up to a car and tried to open the doors, where a woman and children were inside.
A citizen, who was assisting the officer, tackled the suspect. The suspect began stabbing the citizen repeatedly.
The officer repeatedly told the man to stop and eventually fired at the attacker.
Both suspect and victim were brought to the hospital. The suspect was pronounced dead.
The grand jury concluded their review of the of the shooting and the officer was cleared of wrongdoing.
“We appreciate the difficult work by the Special Crimes Unit, Texas Rangers, District Attorney’s Office, and the McLennan County Grand Jury. This was a tragic event but the Grand Jury agreed that the Officer followed state law during this critical incident. The family of the suspect, the recovering stabbing victim and the Officer involved will continue to be in our thoughts and prayers," said Waco Police Chief Ryan Holt.
