Chase, police shootout ends with death near school

A cell phone video by a man in a pickup truck facing Green Avenue showed a school bus traveling eastbound on Green seconds before a police shootout started that left a man dead.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the man led police on a high-speed chase along Texas Highway 87 after Bridge City police got a call about shots being fired in a neighborhood.

As of Tuesday evening, authorities had not released the identification of the victim. The chase and shooting left two officers injured and they are expected to recover.

DPS Sergeant Shana Clark said the event started shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday, October 15, in Bridge City.

Police there had the complaint about gunfire with a description of a white pickup truck speeding away. Shortly, a speeding white Dodge Ram pickup traveling east toward Orange on Texas Avenue (Highway 87).

At the time, the new Golden Triangle Polymers petrochemical plant under construction had a "heavy haul" to move huge prefabricated pieces from the Cow Bayou barge landing to the plant's site on Highway 87 between Bridge City and Orange.

The speeding Dodge hit an out-of-county motorcycle officer working traffic control for the heavy haul on the highway. The collision and injured deputy constable brought traffic to a close in both directors at the Cow Bayou Bridge.

Sergeant Clark said the motorcycle officer had "severe leg injuries" that were non-life-threatening.

A number of different law officers had joined the chase as the truck went eastbound on Green Avenue. The truck crashed into a utility pole at the corner of Green and 15th Street, on a part of the West Orange-Stark Middle School campus, but yards away from buildings.

Sergeant Clark said it appeared the truck had a flat tire that may have made it crash.

Officers ordered the man to drop the gun and get onto the ground. Clark said the man followed the orders, but while lying down, picked up the gun, a semi-automatic 9 mm rifle, and pointed it toward police. An barrage of about 25 shots were heard on the witness's video recording within seconds.

The video shows an officer limping after the gunfire. Sergeant Clark said the officer had a minor leg injury either from a bullet or shrapnel.

The middle school, which starts classes at 8:15 every morning, went into a lock-down and parents were notified. No students or staff were near the shooting scene.

Sergeant Clark said investigators have not determined where the driver of the pickup was headed or what his intentions were, but it was fortunate the shooting was not in front of the nearby school buildings.