Little Elm Detective Jerry Walker was shot in the neck, leading to a standoff with the suspected gunman. (Little Elm Police)
A police detective in Texas has died after he was shot in the neck during a call at a home in Little Elm, the city’s chief says.
Detective Jerry Walker, 48, was rushed to a local hospital, where he later died, Chief Rodney Harrison said at a press conference.
After a standoff that lasted several hours, the suspect was found dead of a gunshot wound inside a home where he had barricaded himself. He has not yet been identified.
The gunman opened fire on officers who were responding to a call of a man armed with a long gun outside a house in a residential neighborhood, KDFW-TV reports.
In a Facebook post, the city asked residents to stay away from the scene.
“There is an active shooter situation in the area of Lobo and Eldorado. Please avoid the area,” the city said.
The house is located in the 1400 block of Turtle Cove Drive.
The chief asked for prayers for Walker’s family, saying he was a “model officer.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is made available. Here’s what we know so far:
1. Another Officer Rushed Into the Line of Fire to Help the Wounded Detective, Chilling Police Radio Audio Reveals
Chilling police radio audio, which you can listen to above, reveals the moments after Detective Jerry Walker was shot.
Another officer can be heard scrambling into the line of fire to Walker to apply pressure to his wound, while calling for backup to get to the scene. Officers were able to get Walker away from the scene in a vehicle.
You can listen to additional audio below:
Walker was flown to a hospital by helicopter, according to NBCDFW.
He was later pronounced dead there.
Photos taken from a resident hiding in their home across the street from a police standoff in Little Elm moments after an officer was shot
Police responded to the home on Turtle Cove Drive about 3 p.m., the Dallas Morning News reports.
According to police, officers found a man armed with a gun in the backyard of a home. The man, who had been yelling, ran into a home when the officers told him to drop the gun. He then fired at the officers from inside the home, wounding Walker.
Walker in a photo posted to his Facebook page in May 2016.
The suspect was said to be armed with a long gun.
The scene was “chaotic,” Lieutenant Orlando Hinojosa, a spokesman for the Denton County Sheriff’s Office, told KDFW-TV.
“They tried to communicate with him to drop his weapon. That’s when he ran inside his residence,” Hinojosa said. “A little after 4 o’clock is when the suspect started shooting. I don’t know if he shot through the window or through the door. When he did, a Little Elm officer was struck. They were able to take him with a squad car away from the location.”
A witness told WFAA-TV he heard several shots.
“There was one initial shot which caused me to start to film and then a three or four more followed.” Antonio Sutton said.
Another witness, a woman who asked not to be identified, told the news station she heard 40 to 50 shots.
2. A SWAT Team & Other Officers Surrounded the Home Where the Gunman Barricaded Himself
There is no update on the Little Elm officer’s condition right now. Reports are that he was shot in the neck and flown to hospital
SWAT officers and other police surrounded the Little Elm home where the suspected gunman has barricaded himself after the shooting.
An elderly woman, who is a family member of the suspect, was extracted from the house through a window, authorities said.
After several hours, police entered the home and found the suspect dead of a gunshot wound.
The neighborhood was evacuated and several roads were shut down.
The name of the shooter and other information about him were not immediately available. It was also not clear if he lives at the home where he was barricaded.
Police from several departments were at the scene.
Traffic is a mess around Lobo and Eldorado–school is still on lockdown, parents trying to get close by #littleelm
Some local schools were placed in modified lockdown as a precaution, officials said. Students who take the bus home were dismissed from the school, while those who walk home were kept in the buildings. Parents were allowed to come to the school to pick up those students.
“For safety reasons, we are keeping everyone inside Lakeside, Powell and Zellars until police say their situation is cleared and safe,” the school district said on Twitter. “We are releasing buses from LMS & Powell – We are still holding students who walk home. Parents are free to come get their children.”
3. Walker, a Father of 4, Was a Narcotics Detective Who Also Worked as a School Resource Officer
Detective Jerry Walker. (Little Elm Police)
Detective Jerry Walker was a narcotics detective with the Little Elm Police Department, according to his Linkedin profile.
He also worked as a school resource officer.
Photo of Det. Jerry Walker, Little Elm officer shot in neck. @NBCDFW
Walker was flown to Denton Regional Medical Center, the Dallas Morning News reports.
“We are praying for the police officer and his family,” Little Elm Fire Chief Brian Roach said at a news conference, according to the newspaper.
Prayers to Little Elm PD Detective Jerry Walker. @LittleElmTX
Roach called Walker a “staple of the community.”
Police Chief Rodney Harrison said Walker was a father of four, with children ranging in age from a few months old to 22.
The Guns and Hoses Foundation of North Texas, founded to help the families of fallen officers and firefighters, is accepting donations in memory of Detective Walker. You can donate here.
4. Walker, Who Served in the Military, Was a 15-Year Veteran
Detective Jerry Walker. (Facebook)
Walker was an officer with the Little Elm Police Department for 15 years, according to KDFW-TV.
The 48-year-old was promoted to detective in 2013, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Walker was an award-winning sniper, taking home several medals at the Texas Police Games in 2006, according to the Little Elm Journal.
“Walker spotted gold through his sights at the sniper rifle competition. He scored the second-highest score in the overall competition, and earned gold in the sniper match at 200 yards and bronze in the open match at 200 yards,” the newspaper reported at the time.
A friend, Chris Baggett, told the Morning News that Walker served in the Army for several years before becoming an officer.
“Most people coming out of the military go from one of the uniform to the next,” Baggett told the newspaper, adding that they bonded over their service to the country and mutual love of Jeeps.
5. Bagpipes Played at the Hospital as Officers Escorted Walker’s Body to an Ambulance
Officers from Little Elm and around the county were at the hospital where Walker was being treated to support him and his family.
After Walker died, officers lined the outside of the hospital, waiting to escort his body. Bagpipes were played and officers in the honor guard saluted as his body was brought out of the hospital to a waiting ambulance.
The scene outside Denton Regional where Det Jerry Walker was taken after being shot. Officers lining up now near ambulance entrance @CBSDFW
Little Elm is a city of about 30,000 people, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in northern Texas.
It is about an hour north of Dallas in Denton County.
Walker is the second officer to be fatally shot in the line of duty nationwide this year. Orlando Police Master Sergeant Debra Clayton was killed earlier this month.
Flowers left outside Little Elm PD building for Jerry Walker, first officer here killed in line of duty. @wfaachannel8
He is the first officer in the history of the Little Elm Police Department to be killed in the line of duty.
The north Texas police community suffered the loss of several officers in 2016, including five officers fatally shot in Dallas during an ambush attack in July.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority Officer Brent Thompson was killed along with Dallas Police Senior Corporal Lorne Ahrens, Sergeant Michael Smith and officers Patrick Zamarripa and Michael Krol.
Euless Police Officer David Hofer was shot and killed in March 2016 while responding to a shots fired call. Euless is about 35 miles south of Little Elm.
Two other North Texas officers died of injuries suffered in the line of duty.
A Southern Methodist University police officer, Mark McCullers, drowned during a storm in August 2016. And in Abilene, a corrections officer, Mari Johnson, was killed during an assault by an inmate.
And another, Officer Stephen Dahl of the Irving Police Department, died in a motorcycle crash while off duty.
Seven officers, including the six in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, were fatally shot in the line of duty in 2016. San Antonio Police Detective Benjamin Marconi was ambushed and killed in November.