1 officer killed, 4 wounded in standoff with Texas gunman
July 15, 2021 at 9:45 pm
LEVELLAND, Texas (AP) — One officer was killed and four others were wounded Thursday when a police standoff in a small West Texas city erupted in gunfire.
The incident involved a man reported as possibly armed shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday on a residential street in Levelland, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Lubbock. The confrontation escalated quickly, gunfire erupted as the suspect barricaded himself inside a house, and a standoff ensued.
Three of the wounded officers were taken to a Lubbock hospital. Sgt. Josh Bartlett of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office was taken to Covenant Health Levelland hospital and died of his wounds, according to a sheriff’s office statement. Bartlett was the commander of the sheriff’s tactical unit.