An early Monday morning shooting call in Garland, Texas, escalated into multiple ambushes across a neighborhood over two hours, during which an officer was wounded, police say.
Two officers were ambushed as they arrived at the scene while responding to a shots fired call, police said. Garland Police Chief Jeff Bryan said they did not have time to exit their vehicle and were unable to return fire. Still, they managed to escape the ambush, Bryan said.
Another Garland police vehicle was pierced by a round, which passed through an officer's leg and entered the officer's other leg, Bryan said.
Officers applied tourniquets and the wounded officer was quickly taken to a nearby hospital, CBS Texas reports. Chief Bryan said the wounded officer is expected to recover.
Meanwhile, the suspect, later identified as 23-year-old Bernardo Mares Jr, fled the scene in a white pickup truck, police said.
Mares reportedly launched more attacks on officers as he traveled west in the city.
Bryan said Mares fled between houses on foot and was tracked to a residence, where he had a family connection to the house. The chief said family members were inside and all were safely evacuated.
The chief said as family members were being evacuated, Mares charged from the house while pointing an object at officers in a "shooter stance," and multiple officers fired simultaneously, striking Mares.
Mares was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
