Texas Rangers Investigate Edinburg Police Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting
Staff Report
EDINBURG, Texas – The Texas Rangers are investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred Tuesday night after a man reportedly threatened a neighbor and confronted police with a firearm.
According to the Edinburg Police Department, officers responded to a disturbance call shortly after 9:30 p.m. in the 2800 block of El Paso Street, where a man was allegedly waving a weapon. Upon arrival, officers encountered 58-year-old Felipe Zuniga, who police say brandished the firearm and pointed it at them. Officers fired their weapons before Zuniga retreated and barricaded himself inside a residence.
Speaking to media at a press conference, Edinburg Police Chief Jaime Ayala provided a detailed review of the incident. Ayala started off the press conference by noting that the weapon officers faced in the incident looked like a firearm.
“We now know that it’s a BB gun. But if you look at it, and you’re looking at it – especially daytime or nighttime but in the dark – any reasonable person would look at this and feel and believe that it is a firearm. Replica weapons that are used in the commission of crimes across our country are dangerous and they’re used very often.”
“And if you Google and just take a look at how many police involved shootings occur because replica weapons are being utilized by suspects. It is a great concern and one that has been pursued to try to stop these replica weapons from being made or BB airsoft guns being made to look like real weapons.”
“At approximately 9:35 p.m. on January 28th, our officers were dispatched to the location on 2800 block of El Paso Street regarding a subject carrying a firearm, a rifle, and threatening to kill the complainant. About four minutes later, first officers arriving on scene observed the subject carrying the rifle which the suspect pointed it at our officers.”
“Officers called for emergency assistance and backup officers were dispatched and began to arrive. Shortly thereafter, the male subject walks out into the roadway, points his weapon at our officers (as a consequence) our officers fired. The suspect retreated, continued moving around his front yard, and command on scene decided that we needed to utilize our SWAT operations and our negotiators.”
“They were dispatched, requested, and responded to the scene. A perimeter had been established and an attempt to negotiation, to negotiate continued. SWAT officers used a megaphone to try to gain compliance from the suspect and negotiate with him. We utilized our armored vehicle to breach the front door, uh, to breach the front door to deploy a throw phone.”
“At this point, during the breach, the suspect pointed his weapon in the direction of our SWAT officers and shots were fired at the suspect. Once we cleared the location, EMS was on standby. Officers administered EMS and brought EMS into the scene to treat the suspect. He was then transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”
“It’s important to note that concurrent investigations are ongoing. The internal investigation will be conducted by the Edinburg Police Department Internal Affairs Division, and the criminal investigation will be conducted by the Texas Rangers. A Texas Ranger did arrive on scene and begin his criminal investigation that evening.”
“It’s the reality that we face that we know that officers involved in this incident are going to have to live with, live with it for the rest of their lives. You know, we focus on the mental health of our community, but we also focus on the mental health of our officers. I ask that you keep these officers in your thoughts and prayers as they work through this incident.
Our hearts go out to the Zuniga family for the loss that they have suffered and their family. The officers involved in this deadly force situation, as a routine matter, are placed on administrative leave with pay, depending on the outcome of the investigation.”
Source – Edinburg Police Department