A police officer in Southeast Texas fatally shot an armed man who may have fled the scene of a domestic disturbance, authorities say.
The shooting happened shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday in Nederland, a suburb of Beaumont, about 85 miles (140 kilometers) east of Houston.
Police in neighboring Port Neches received a report of a domestic disturbance that described a 29-year-old man leaving the house with a gun. Nederland Police Chief Gary Porter said in a statement that one of his officers spotted a man matching the description of the suspect walking down a Nederland street.
The officer chased the man on foot and tried to stop him using a stun gun. When that failed, the officer shot the man dead, Porter said. Police withheld the man’s identity until his family could be notified.
Officer Tanner Thompson, 26, a four-year veteran of the Nederland police force, has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Texas Rangers and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.
Asked if he believed the shooting was justified, Porter told the Port Arthur News: “It would be unethical to interject my opinion while the Texas Rangers and the D.A.’s office are investigating this.”
The officer-involved shooting was the first on record in the city of more than 17,000 residents.
