IRVING, Texas — A man was shot and killed by an Irving police officer Wednesday morning after bursting through a President George Bush Turnpike barricade "at a high rate of speed" and approaching the officer with a knife in-hand, according to the department's police chief.
Irving Police Chief Derick Miller said Wednesday afternoon in a press conference that a major accident at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning on PGBT caused responding officers to place barricades on the highway as they assisted with traffic control.
Hours later, around 11 a.m., the suspect drove through the barricade on PGBT "at a high rate of speed" and Irving police chased the suspect until it could go any further on the road due to traffic.
The man got out of his car with a knife in his hand and went into a grassy area on the shoulder of the highway, Miller said. Officers gave the man commands to drop the knife multiple times in attempts to de-escalate the situation, but the man continued to walk down the road, according to Miller. The man then turned around and moved toward officers, which caused them to retreat back into a vehicle.
An Irving police officer, who has been with the department for 15 years, fired his weapon and struck the man "several times," Miller said. The officers rendered aid to the man, Miller said, and medical personnel transported the man to Parkland Hospital, where he died.
No officers were injured in the incident, Irving police said.
Miller said the officer fired his weapon "more than once," but the exact number of shots fired was unclear. Police were still trying to figure out Wednesday afternoon why the man burst through the barricade at a high rate of speed and why he didn't "heed the officers' attempts for de-escalation" and drop the knife, Miller said.
Southbound lanes of PGBT was shut down Wednesday afternoon due to the police shooting, and drivers were advised to avoid the area, if possible. Southbound traffic on PGBT was backed up to the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.
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