Dallas police officer accidentally shoots own son after mistaking him for an intruder, will not face charges
DESOTO, TEXAS: An off-duty Texas police officer reportedly shot his own son after thinking he was an intruder.
The officer of the Dallas Police Department, identified only as a "long term veteran", feared someone had broken into his DeSoto residence on Saturday, October 26, evening after finding the garage door open, Fox 4 reports. The incident took place just before 6 pm in the 1400 block of Carriage Creek Drive.
Before opening fire on the "intruder", he reportedly identified himself as a law enforcement officer, only to later realize that the intruder was his own son.
The officer then called 911 to report that he had accidentally shot his son, DeSoto police spokesman Pete Schulte said.
While the report did not name the victim, it stated he is in his 20s and was "lightly struck by a bullet in his arm" before being rushed to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to Schulte, the shooter will most likely not face charges as his account was consistent with evidence recovered from the home.
However, the investigation is still ongoing.
"It was a mistake. He thought that there might have been an intruder in the house," he told CBS DFW. "He didn't know who was supposed to be there and so forth. It was a startling situation. It was an accident."
"We did ask the question: 'Why didn't you call us, the DeSoto Police Department?' and like most people, he said: 'I just wanted to know what was going on before I wasted a call to 911,'" the spokesman added.
That said, investigators have said they will not release the identity of the off-duty cop or his son pending investigation.
Nonetheless, the Dallas Police Department wanted the incident to serve as a warning to the public. "If you come home and something doesn't feel right, [it] doesn't bother us at all, go ahead and call 911, so we can come out and check it out," Schulte said.