Dallas officers shoot suspect

Dallas—The preliminary investigation determined that on Jan. 7, at approximately 3:15 p.m., the Dallas Police Department received six 911 calls, regarding the suspect pointing a gun at vehicles as they drove by him on Joaquin Drive. Witnesses described the suspect, later identified as Michael Alonzo, a 52-year-old Hispanic male, wearing red hoodie and grey sweatpants. 

Officers Juan Lopez-Navarro and Nathaniel Cairns, arrived at approximately 3:21 p.m. and observed Alonzo wearing a red hoodie and grey sweatpants, standing in the street in the 11000 block Joaquin Drive. Alonzo was observed pointing a handgun at a person inside a vehicle that’s pulling over. The officers gave Alonzo verbal commands in English and Spanish, which he ignored. In the body-worn camera footage that will be released shortly, Officer Lopez-Navarro said, “He’s got a gun in his hand.” After additional verbal commands, Officer Cairns said, “He’s pointing it; he’s pointing it,” resulting in both officers discharging their firearms striking, Alonzo. 

Both officers immediately provided first aid to Alonzo until Dallas Fire Rescue’s arrival. He was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where he remains in stable but critical condition. 

Alonzo’s weapon was recovered at the scene and was later determined to be a replica firearm, specifically, a Crosman revolver C02 air pistol. 

Alonzo will be charged with three counts of deadly conduct and additional charges may follow.  

Alonzo’s criminal history includes arrests for prostitution and theft by check. 

No officers or any other persons were injured during this incident. 

This is an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Dallas Police Special Investigations Unit. 

The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office was notified, responded, and will conduct their own investigation. 

The Office of Community Police Oversight was notified and responded to the scene. Additionally, the Office of Community Police Oversight has been briefed regarding this incident. 

To be transparent, the Dallas Police Department is releasing 911 audio recordings, footage from a complainant’s dashcam, the officers’ dashcam videos and body-worn camera videos. 

The critical incident video can be viewed at . 

SOURCE Dallas Police Department