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Arlington police fatally shoot man who pointed replica BB gun at officers, authorities say

Officers say the suspect attacked someone with a baseball bat prior to Saturday night's shooting.

ARLINGTON, Texas — A man is dead and three Arlington police officers have been placed on leave following a Saturday night shooting. 

Authorities say around 6:37 p.m., officers responded to a report of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon at a house near the 700 block of Thomas Chapel Drive. 

Officers say during their investigation they learned that the suspect, later identified as a 31-year old man, injured the victim's head and arm by attacking the person with a baseball bat. 

Detectives say the victim was able to leave the residence where the attack happened. Police say when they arrived at the house, the 31-year-old man refused to go outside and talk to officers. 

According to authorities, officers tried getting the man to surrender by using a phone and a public address system to communicate with him.  

Around 8:01 p.m., authorities say the suspect opened the front door and walked onto the front porch. 

According to police, the suspect pulled what officers believed to be a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at them. 

Three officers then fired their weapons at the 31-year-old man, striking him, police say. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Investigators say after the shooting, detectives processed the crime scene and learned the suspect actually had a replica BB gun on him.

The medical examiner’s office will release the suspect's name once next of kin is notified. 

The three officers who were involved in the shooting have been placed on standard administrative leave.

Authorities say the incident was captured by body-worn cameras which will be included in the investigation.

Police say officers visited the same residence the day before the shooting to investigate an allegation of the invasive visual recording of a child. 

Officers say during Friday night's visit the same suspect made statements that indicated he may be suicidal. Authorities say because this, officers transported the suspect to a mental health treatment facility to receive medical services.

Investigators later learned that the 31-year-old man was released from the hospital and returned back to the residence.

Arlington police say the case of involving the allegations of the invasive visual recording remains under investigation. 

On Sunday night, Arlington police released a redacted copy of the bodycam and dashcam videos of the shooting, shown at the top fo this story. Police released this statement with the footage:

"Due to the camera positioning, the use of safety equipment (a ballistic shield), and the angle of an officer’s chest versus the positioning of an officer’s shoulder and head, the body camera footage of the officers that used deadly force did not fully capture the deadly aggression presented by the decedent. However, a dash camera in a patrol car at the scene did capture the decedent come out of the residence and point a firearm at the officers. This firearm was later determined to be a BB gun made as a replica of a Berretta 92F firearm.   

 In this case, the three body worn cameras captured footage that although is valuable in the investigation, was not the most distinguishable video to address potential community concerns. In this case, the video from a patrol vehicle captured the most compelling video. It is important to acknowledge that while digital evidence from body-worn cameras are useful in investigations, they are not absolute and the presence of body cameras does not always translate to capturing the most desirable camera angle wanted by the public.

 The Arlington Police Department conducts very thorough use of force investigations, which typically require investigators to interview multiple witnesses, review numerous hours of video footage, and analyze a significant amount of forensic evidence. The department conducts concurrent administrative and criminal investigations.

 Department representatives met with family members of the decedent earlier this afternoon to allow them an opportunity to view the video footage prior to the public release. The department will conduct a thorough review of all the facts of this case, including all interactions with the medical community concerning mental health services received."

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