Police kill armed man sought on child sex assault warrant
CORPUS CHRISTI — A 44-year-old man being served a warrant for child sexual assault was shot as police said they struggled with him for possession of a handgun last week.
A detective and two uniformed officers arrived at the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission at 900 Nueces Bay Blvd. at 4:41 p.m. Friday and encountered the man near the front of the facility.
“When they attempted to effect this arrest, a struggle ensued with the suspect over a weapon possessed, a handgun possessed by the suspect,” Police Chief Mike Markle told reporters. “Officers attempted to tase him; they did tase him, without effect.
“Because of the life-threatening nature of this call, officers did use their primary weapon and fired, I believe, a single shot, but I can’t confirm that yet, and struck the suspect, who was transported to a local hospital.”
Markle confirmed that the man died at the hospital. The chief said he didn’t know the name of the man or any details about him, including whether he was a resident of the shelter where he was shot.
Police were seeking to take the man into custody on a warrant for continuous sexual assault of a child when they determined that the man had a handgun.
Markle said the scene was quickly secured by police.
“The actual incident occurred just inside the building, so we have secured the area around the crime scene. It does include much of the bottom floor,” he told reporters during a news conference that was shown on the department’s Facebook page.
Markle said it was important to secure a larger perimeter than the immediate crime scene “so we don’t miss anything.”
Markle said officers involved will be placed on leave, per departmental policy, and investigators will review statements and bodycam footage in connection with the shooting.