Watch Texas Police Confront Gunman, Stop Possible Murder-Suicide
Texas police prevented a potential murder-suicide when they apprehended an armed man who allegedly intended to kill a friend before killing himself over the weekend.
The incident happened Sunday when White Settlement police responded to a 9-1-1 call from someone who said a gunman was headed to kill him, KDFW-TV reports. When officers reached the caller's apartment, they confronted a man—identified as Steven Silva—outside with multiple guns. An officer's body camera captured the incident.
"We really believe had we been a minute or two later, there would have been a murder of the victim and likely a suicide," said Chief Christopher Cook.
The caller told police that Silva had been threatening him from outside the apartment, and body camera footage shows a weapon leaning up against an exterior apartment door. According to police, Silva was armed with .22 caliber long rifle, a shotgun and a handgun.
"They were all chambered, had rounds in them," said Cook. "Based on social media posts, based on the statement from the victim, based on the statement from the suspect, his intent was likely going to be that he may try to kill his friend and then kill himself."
Silva surrendered without incident once police arrived, and he faces charges of terroristic threat, unlawfully carrying weapons and possession of a controlled substance, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Cook said that Silva and the intended victim had had a disagreement about a woman.
"We see this with road rage incidents. We see this with boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives but at the end of the day we’ve got to take a deep breath and we gotta calm down and get our emotions in check," said Chief Cook.
