‘Courageous and heroic’ police officers recovering from injuries in Haltom City shooting

Haltom City police on Sunday identified three officers who were wounded while responding to a shooting Saturday night and said they are recovering.

Cpl. Zach Tabler has worked for the Haltom City department for seven years. He was shot in his right arm, hand and leg. He underwent surgery and remained hospitalized Sunday.

Officer Tim Barton has served in Haltom City for six years. He was shot in his upper thigh and was treated and released from a hospital, police said.

Officer Jose Avila has served in Haltom City for fives years. Avila was shot in both legs and was awaiting surgery Sunday.

Video from a neighbor’s doorbell camera released by police on Sunday shows a gunman fire a barrage of shots at the officers, who were first to arrive on scene after residents called 911. The officers were approaching a shooting victim in the driveway of a home when the gunman opened fire on them, a witness said.

“As soon as they were running toward the victim … as the coward that he was, as soon as the officers got close to that victim, that’s when he fired on them,” neighbor Angel Trevino said.

He said he commend the officers “because they literally ran into it. They literally put their lives on the line for my neighbors and my family.”

Haltom City Police Chief Cody Phillips said Sunday that the officers walked into “an ambush situation, so if they wouldn’t have been prepared, this situation could’ve turned out a lot worse.

“There could have been several officers deceased over not being able to respond correctly,” Phillips said. “So they responded as they were trained, and that was crucial.”

Two residents, Collin Davis, 33, and Amber Tsai, 32, were killed by the gunman before officers arrived, and another neighbor was wounded, police said.

The shooter, 28-year-old Edward Freyman, killed himself as officers searched for him, police said. Freyman lived in Fort Worth, according to public records.

“Our officers’ actions were courageous and heroic as they engaged the suspect,” City Manager Rex Phelps, a former police official, said at Sunday’s news conference. “... Their training and experience was evident.”

This story was originally published July 3, 2022 at 7:49 PM.