TYLER, Tx – A man shot two East Texas law officers who were responding to a domestic disturbance call Wednesday, then holed up in a house for about two hours before other officers shot him, authorities said.
Officials did not have conditions on the two officers or the suspect, identified as Joseph Earl Walsh, 52. Identities weren't released on the officers.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Jean Dark said officials had been negotiating with the suspect before he was shot.
"At some point he exited the residence carrying a weapon and made threatening advances toward the officers," Dark said. "They in turn took appropriate action."
The officers were shot after going to the home, which has bars on the windows, then calling for backup, Tyler Police Department spokesman Don Martin said.
Federal, state and local officers then surrounded the house and snipers were positioned in the area. Some neighbors were evacuated, and others were told to stay inside their homes away from doors and windows. Traffic was blocked on U.S. Highway 271 near the residence.
Smith County Sheriff's Lt. Larry Wiginton told the newspaper that the shooter was armed with a deer rifle and at least 150 rounds of armor-piercing ammunition. Officers on the scene told the newspaper that the man had threatened not to be taken alive.
About an hour before the suspect was shot, a woman and another person walked out of the house, Dark said.
Before the standoff ended, an officer who was trapped near the house was evacuated in an armored personnel carrier, and blood was visible in the vehicle when the door opened, the newspaper reported.
The Department of Public Safety said all officers who were in danger near the house had been evacuated.
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