Fort Worth Police Officer Ambushed & Shot
By Selena Hernandez
FORT WORTH (CBS/AP) ―A Fort Worth police officer is recovering in the hospital after being ambushed and shot during a routine call. The incident happened shortly before 10:00 p.m. Wednesday night in the 2600 block of Northwest 28th Street, as the officer was responding to reports of an aggravated assault.
The victim of that alleged aggravated assault is a resident who called police when a suspect had kicked open his home's front door in an attempted home invasion.
According to the police, the officer was speaking to the victim of the apparent aggravated assault. That is when gunfire erupted. "The police officer was walking with the victim," said Sgt. Chad Mahaffey with the Fort Worth Police Department. "An ambush shot rang out from a shotgun, with pellets also striking the police officer's head."
The police officer and the resident were both struck.
The shot police officer was rushed to JPS Hospital in Fort Worth for treatment. He is now listed in stable condition and expected to be okay. The resident was not badly injured and did not go to the hospital.
Meanwhile, the suspect is still on the loose. Police are searching for Manuel Vela, 35, in connection with the break-in.
Police said that the resident knows the suspect, who fled the scene after opening fire.
