DALLAS, Texas (KTVT/CNN) – Dallas police said Wednesday one of two police officers shot at a Home Depot, Rogelio Santander , has died.
They said officer Crystal Almeida and a Home Depot loss prevention officer also wounded in the shooting remain in critical condition.
They converged on a northeast Dallas shopping center. Within seconds after shots rang out.
Amid calls of officers down and a search for the shooter, Home Depot employee Fred Walker recalled the scene: “Chaotic. Everybody took off running did you hear gunshots? How many gunshots did you hear? I think I heard maybe four.”
Walker was working inside the Home Depot when police were called about a shoplifter, identified as Armando Juarez. The 29-year-old has outstanding warrants.
Sources tell CBS 11 News he pulled a handgun and shot one male officer in the back of the head and a female officer in the face.
A store security employee was also shot and wounded.
“The officers got him and then they started doing the shots it was about seven shots that we heard,” Home Depot employee Mercedes Espinosa said. “I seen two officers down surrounded in a puddle of blood.”
A massive search from police helicopters the air and on the ground followed after witnesses reported the shooter fled on foot and may be hiding in a nearby creek.
But when police reviewed security camera video they discovered the suspect fled in this pickup truck.
Inside the store, employees and customers either froze in panic or fled in fear from the brutal violence that played out in front of them.
The suspect, Armando Juarez was captured Tuesday night after a car chase.
For now, he will be charged with at least two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.