Police fatally shoot man holding knife on another man at north Arlington motel: officials
Police fatally shot a man who was holding a knife to another man early Wednesday at a north Arlington motel, officials said.
Officers were dispatched to a disturbance at the Motel 6 located in the 900 block of North Collins Street around 1:03 a.m. on Nov. 27. The caller said a man had been banging on the back door and was now at the front desk yelling for help, police said. The man had been at the location for around 20 minutes, the caller reported.
Two officers arrived around 1:05 a.m., and an unknown person told them he could hear yelling from one of the above floors. The officers began to search the building floor by floor to find the source of the yelling, Arlington police spokesperson Lt. Courtney White said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference.
When the officers found the room, someone inside began yelling for help, White said. The officers identified themselves as police and asked for the door to be opened.
“Due to no response and hearing someone yell for help, the officers attempted to force entry into the room,” White said.
Once inside, they saw a man holding a knife to another man, who was yelling for help and trying to keep the knife away from him. The victim had apparent cuts on his arm, police said in a news release. The officers told the suspect multiple times to drop the knife.
“He refused and continued to fight with the victim,” the release states.
Both officers fired their service weapons multiple times, White said, shooting the suspect. The officers rendered first aid to the man, but he died from his injuries at a local hospital.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him as 34-year-old Edgar Ivan Ayala Garcia.
The stabbing victim was also treated at a local hospital and then released. According to police, it appears the two men did not know each other. It’s believed the victim heard the suspect yelling and banging on various doors at the motel. When he opened his own door, he was confronted by Ayala Garcia, who was carrying the knife, investigators said.
According to White, Ayala Garcia may have been connected with a call that came in earlier regarding a man who was reported to be throwing around trash cans in the same area. Based on the description of the suspect in that call, police believe it may have been the same person who had the knife at the motel.
Neither of the Arlington officers were injured during the incident, according to police.
Both officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave per Arlington Police Department policy, White said. One of them has been with the department for six years and the other for two years. Their names have not been released.
The Homicide Unit will conduct the criminal investigation into the shooting, and the Internal Affairs Unit will determine if the officers followed the department’s policies and procedures, police said.
This story was originally published November 27, 2024 at 7:37 AM.
