Dallas Chief of Police Eddie Garcia shared new information Monday on the shootout and arrest of a man they say fired into a pickup truck Thursday afternoon, killing a man, and then firing on police during a chase and injuring an officer.
Garcia said officers Derek Williams and Christopher Mazin were responding to a call at about 1:25 p.m. when they spotted a man shooting into a truck in front of a gas station along Scyene Road.
Williams pulled their cruiser into the parking lot and drove back to where the shooting took place. As the officers got out of their vehicle, the man began firing at them, hitting the patrol car as he drove away.
The officers got back into their cruiser and chased the man over to Second Avenue where he'd done a U-turn and was headed back toward the officers. Williams stopped the cruiser and the officers got out of the vehicle where they again exchanged gunfire with the man.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
During this second exchange of gunfire, Williams was shot in his vest as the man drove past them.
The suspect in the shooting, later identified as 45-year-old Juan Vincente Zavala Lopez, was believed to be at a private residence in Lewisville. Dallas Police, joined by SWAT and Lewisville Police, went to the address and found Lopez hiding in a horse stall.
Police said they ordered Zavala Lopez to show them his hands, but he refused. When he was taken into custody, police said they found a 9mm pistol in his hand and that he had a second clip.
Garcia said the victim of the shooting on Scyene, identified as Ruperto Mondragon Salgado, died at the scene. A woman who was also in the pickup truck was not injured. While the investigation is ongoing, Garcia said the shooting appeared to be a domestic situation and that Zavala Lopez and Salgado were roommates.
A small memorial now stands where the series of events started. Sylvia Hernandez said she’s trying to make sense of it all. Hernandez, an acquaintance of both men, told NBC 5 the two men were friends and roommates. She said they were arguing over a financial dispute.
“I believe that Vicente was not all there. It was something that didn’t even have to happen,” she said.
Hernandez said Salgado leaves behind and wife and two adult children. She said families and friendships are shattered.
“This is not fair. Why did he take his life? What right do you take somebody’s life? What right do you have?” she said.
Zavala Lopez was taken into custody and charged with murder and one count of aggravated assault for the homicide and shooting on Scyene and four counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer for the shooting on Second. He is being held in the Dallas County Jail on bonds totaling more than $1 million, though not all charges had been assigned bond amounts. It's not clear if Zavala Lopez has obtained an attorney.
Zavala Lopez is also facing an immigration hold. Garcia said Monday that Zavala Lopez entered the country illegally and had been deported nine times before. Garcia said he's got priors and has spent 18 months in a Texas state prison and faced multiple charges in California.
Of his officers, Garcia said Williams was treated and released and that Mazin was not injured in the shooting. Garcia released video of the shooting from dash cameras and body cameras on Monday. Those videos can be seen in the player above.
Garcia said this is the ninth shooting involving a Dallas Police officer this year and that seven times the officers were shot at first.
"We are lucky to have our officers alive today," Garcia said. "Our men and women go to work each day not knowing what the day or call will hold to serve and protect. I'm grateful for the brave men and women of this department for the great work they do each day and the bravery and commitment to our profession and our city. I'm incredibly proud of officers Williams and Mazin who faced evil and did not back down."
