Armed man fatally shot by Azle police officer
An Azle police officer fatally shot an armed 51-year-old man Sunday night after the man “advanced toward the officer and pointed the weapon at him,” Police Chief Rick Pippins said in a statement.
Mark Minnick was pronounced dead at 9:38 p.m.
Azle police got a call about a man firing a gun in the 600 block of Alameda Road at 8:21 p.m. When the first officer arrived, he came upon Minnick, who was armed with a handgun, Pippins said.
The officer “ordered the man to drop the weapon.” When the man advanced toward the officer with his gun pointed, the officer shot the man multiple times in the torso, Pippins said.
The officer who shot Minnick was Angel Perez, 26, police said. Perez, a patrol officer, joined the Azle Police Department in December 2014.
Minnick was taken to an Azle hospital, and then flown to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.
The Texas Rangers are leading an investigation into the shooting, Pippins said. Perez has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Ryan Osborne: 817-390-7684, @RyanOsborneFWST
This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 7:22 AM with the headline "Armed man fatally shot by Azle police officer."