Armed man shot by police after shooting at officers, firing gun inside family’s home

An armed man who was the subject of a welfare call Monday morning fired several rounds inside his family’s home and at police and is recovering after being shot by two Arlington officers.

Arlington police Sgt. Courtney White said Monday afternoon that officers were called to a home on Shady Valley Drive just before 10 a.m. after someone called 911, concerned about an argument with a 20-year-old family member over drug use.

White said officers found the man in the neighborhood a short distance from the home. The man had not committed any criminal offenses and had no warrants and after talking with him the officers offered to give him a ride home. Before allowing him in the car the officers said they needed to search him to make sure he didn’t have any weapons and he sprinted away. Because a crime had not been committed, there was no pursuit by the officers.

The officers then returned to the family’s home to tell them what happened. A few minutes later, a call was placed to 911 by a neighbor who said a man with a gun approached him and requested money. The description of the man matched the 20-year-old who police were talking with minutes before.

Officers began searching for the man in the neighborhood and later received a call from the family that he’d returned home, had fired the gun several times, and was attempting to leave with a pickup truck. After police returned to the home, they said the man was backing out of the driveway.

White said during a subsequent review of dashcam and bodycam video, it appears the man fired at least once through the windshield of the truck toward police officers. An officer then announced over the radio that shots had been fired.

The man then drove away in the truck and a short distance later crashed into another driver in the neighborhood, disabling both vehicles. The man then got out of the truck, White said, and again tried to escape on foot. Officers found him a short distance away under a driveway carport, armed with a gun, and they both fired several times.

Officers then ordered the man to show them his hands. The man complied and as officers placed him in handcuffs they found he had multiple gunshot wounds. The man was given first aid before being hospitalized. White said the man was in stable condition and is expected to survive.

White said it’s not yet clear if the man fired any other shots at police while under the carport.

The man’s name, White said, will be released once he’s discharged from the hospital and booked by police. White said the man is expected to face several charges including aggravated assault on a public servant, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault family violence, and one charge of evading.

White said the officers involved in the shooting, like all Arlington police officers, undergo mental health and crisis intervention training. Both officers are longtime veterans of the department.

There are two ongoing investigations, one into the incident itself and a second internal investigation into the use of force.