Updated: 7:10 a.m., Jan. 25
By Kenney Kost/managing editor
A theft call from a Target store in Grand Prairie ended with one suspect fatally wounded in the south parking lot of SE Campus Thursday afternoon.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office Friday morning identified the suspect as Jordan Hatcher, 22, of Mansfield.
Grand Prairie police were dispatched at about 3:50 p.m. to the Target on Camp Wisdom Road and State Highway 360 and attempted to arrest the two suspects.
“When Grand Prairie police arrived, one suspect was taken into custody,” Arlington Police Department media officer Sgt. Christopher Cook said. “The other struggled with Grand Prairie officers and was able to break free and ran on foot trying to flee.”
At about 4:15 p.m., Grand Prairie notified Arlington police and requested their assistance, Cook said. Several patrol cars from both departments responded to the call, and TCC police were also placed on alert to anticipate where the suspect may have headed.
Grand Prairie police, along with officers from TCC, found the suspect running through the south parking lot of SE Campus after having run across the highway into Arlington and attempted to apprehend him a second time.
“At that point, there was another physical altercation between multiple officers and the suspect,” he said. “During this physical altercation, the suspect was able to gain control of one of the officer’s Tasers. After that occurred, the Grand Prairie officer did shoot the suspect in fear of his safety and the safety of the other officers.”
One of the officers checked the suspect’s pulse after the shooting and attempted CPR. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
A spokesman for Grand Prairie police said TCC students were in no immediate danger, and the campus went ahead with classes.
“TCC did an excellent job sending an alert out to their students that there was incident in their parking lot,” the spokesman said. “They made the decision to continue with classes because of the information the police department was able to relay to them. We were told there were no injuries to students, other officers or any bystanders.
There is no information on either of the suspects at this time pending a joint investigation between the Grand Prairie and Arlington police departments.
The officer that fired the shots has placed on a routine three-day leave of absence.
“He is a veteran officer and has never been involved in this kind of incident,” the spokesman said. “That is very routine, as any officer involved in a shooting will get three days off just to make sure he can work through the shooting.”
Earlier Thursday, TCC police received an unconfirmed report of an armed man on a city bus headed to South Campus, according to Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley. Police responded only to learn that the man had exited the bus before reaching the campus.
Hadley was grateful for TCC police’s response in both incidents.
“We are proud of the professional and timely manner in which TCC Police and all other departments are prepared to respond to all incidents and will continue to ensure that your safety is at the forefront of all decisions,” said in an e-mail to students, faculty and staff.”
She also urged they sign up for myTCC Alerts, which notify the campus community by phone when emergency situations develop.
