Crime news
Off-duty Dallas police officer kills gunman outside nightclub
Around 2:30 am on March 14, Dallas police officer Christopher Timms was working an off-duty security job at Club Icon in northeast Dallas when a fight broke out.
According to a statement released by Dallas PD, a black male suspect "retrieved a gun from a vehicle and began shooting toward a crowd of people." Timms heard shots and spotted the gunman with his weapon aimed at the crowd.
Dallas PD is standing behind its officer, saying he fired the fatal shot to protect the lives of innocent people.
"Fearing for the lives of innocent people, Timms fired his duty weapon," the statement reads. The gunman, whose name has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at Parkland Memorial Hospital and another man was injured in the gunfire.
Initial reports did not identify Timms as the person who delivered the fatal shot, as the investigation involved multiple shooters. Three officers were working off-duty at the club at time of the shooting. Dallas PD named the shooter during a March 14 press conference.
Dallas PD did not immediately respond to a request for information on how many fatal officer-involved shootings have occurred thus far in 2013, but it is at least the second such incident in four days.
On March 10, Dallas police officer Clark Staller shot and killed Clinton Roebexar Allen, 25, after giving chase to the suspect in Oak Cliff. There was also a fatal shooting in February, when Dallas police attempted to bring in a suspected murderer at the intersection of Abrams Road and Skillman Avenue.
