DALLAS — The man who shot at two officers Thursday first shot and killed his wife, according to Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia.
The two officers were transported to the hospital after they were shot and are expected to recover, Garcia said.
Garcia said officers responded to the shooting call around 11 a.m Thursday at the 5300 block of Bonita Avenue. The suspect fired at officers as they approached the home.
When SWAT made it inside the home, they found 57-year-old Sergio Sanchez and his wife both dead from gunshot wounds. There were no shots fired by officers during this incident, according to Garcia.
Garcia said Sanchez had an "extensive violent criminal history" and domestic issues with his wife.
Sanchez called the police to tell them he had killed his wife and that he didn't want to go back to prison. Someone who knew Sanchez also called police to tell them he was going to "shoot it out with the police" when they arrived, Garcia said.
In about two-and-a-half weeks as police chief, Garcia said there have been two domestic violence-related murder-suicides in Dallas. He said, "we need to work together with our community" to make sure victims and survivors know there are resources for them.
"We need to work harder to ensure they know that," Garcia said. "There's a lot more than law enforcement that needs to be involved here."
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else.
Garcia said Dallas firefighters provided cover for his officers Thursday while they took the two wounded officers away from the scene.
"Heroic is probably not a strong enough word for the actions of our fire department," Garcia said. "I can't even describe it. That doesn't happen everywhere."
Garcia also said he is concerned about the number of officers shot at and hit by drunk drivers in the past few weeks, calling it "unacceptable."
Most recently, a Dallas police officer died after being hit by a suspected drunk driver early Saturday morning.
