SMITH COUNTY, Texas — A man was shot and killed early Tuesday morning breaking into a Lindale-area home, where a woman and her two children were hiding, police say.
The Smith County Sheriff's Office responded to a call at 1:30 a.m. from a third-party caller that said her daughter's boyfriend was breaking into a home located on the 16000 block of County Road 4100 near Lindale. The call was transferred to the Lindale Police Department, where it was passed back to SCSO at 1:43 a.m. after it was discovered that the residence was outside of the Lindale city limits.
At the time of the call, the woman had locked her boyfriend out of the house and he was attempting to break into the home through a window. After he entered into the home, he kicked in the locked bedroom door, where the woman and her two children were hiding, police said.
The boyfriend began attacking her and attempted to take away her phone, according to the police report.
SCSO said deputies were dispatched at 1:44 a.m. and was told through emergency radio traffic that the boyfriend had a gun, but it was unknown if he was in possession of it at the time of the burglary. When LPD and SCSO units arrived on the scene at around 2 a.m., the emergency radio traffic channel was closed.
Deputies attempted to deescalate the situation until 2:13 a.m. until it was determined that the boyfriend was in possession of a pistol. Shots were fired at the boyfriend, who was treated by EMS units on scene. He was transported to UT Main, where he was determined to have died upon arrival.
An inquest was held by Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 Mitch Shamburger and UT Main Emergency Trauma Room, and an autopsy has been ordered by Judge Shamburger and will be performed today.
The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave pending the completion of the investigation and autopsy.