Tarrant deputies serving mental health warrant fatally shoot 19-year-old Haltom City man
A 19-year-old man who was fatally shot by Tarrant County sheriff’s deputies in Haltom City assaulted one of them with a knife when the deputies tried to serve him a mental health warrant Friday afternoon, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The shooting occurred in a residential neighborhood on Twin Oaks Drive, near U.S. Highway 377, about 2 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31.
The Sheriff’s Office identified the 19-year-old as Christopher Loyo in a news release. Loyo had been arrested the previous week in Haltom City on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. He returned to his home after bonding out of the Tarrant County Jail, but was displaying “erratic behavior,” according to the release.
Loyo’s family members told the Star-Telegram that they went to a judge to get the mental health warrant because the family wanted to get him help.
Loyo locked himself in his room for days, would not eat, and was experiencing paranoia, his family said.
Haltom City police officers came to the family’s house earlier in the week and talked to Christopher Loyo, but police said they couldn’t do anything because he wasn’t a threat to anyone at that time, Christopher’s brother Jorge Loyo said. He said the family then got the warrant, which was recommended by police, because they thought Christopher needed to be hospitalized but he wouldn’t go willingly.
The family thought that deputies would talk to Christopher when they arrived at the house to serve the warrant, but once Jorge opened the door, they barged into the room where Christopher was and dragged other family members away from him, Jorge said. The relatives soon heard gunshots and what sounded like a Taser, according to Jorge, who said deputies were in the home for about five minutes total.
“It doesn’t matter if he had a knife or not, why didn’t [deputies] talk to him?” Jorge Loyo said.
According to the Sheriff’s Office statement, Christopher Loyo assaulted one of the deputies with a knife and stabbed him in the head. The deputy also suffered a severe cut to his hand during the attack, the release stated.
“Deputies on scene discharged their firearms to stop Loyo, ultimately saving the life of the deputy,” officials said in the release.
The injured deputy was taken to a hospital for treatment and is recovering, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Jorge Loyo, 22, said he spoke with the judge who signed the warrant on Thursday and was told that mental health specialists would come to the family’s home within three days to take his brother to a hospital. On Friday morning, someone with the Sheriff’s Office called to say deputies were on their way. During that call, Jorge Loyo said, they told him they would talk to his brother and only handcuff him as a last resort if he became aggressive.
“They didn’t talk to him. They just busted in the door, and I didn’t see, I just heard the gunshots and the Taser, that was it,” Jorge Loyo said. “They didn’t talk to him at all. At all, at all, at all. Why? I don’t know. What are the procedures for Tarrant County deputies? Is that it? Just drag him out? It’s mental health … I want to know why you guys didn’t sit there and have a conversation with him. You just barged in.”
The deputies who went to Loyo’s home specialize in serving mental health warrants, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office served a total of 427 mental health warrants in 2024, officials said. In those cases, the people taken into custody were transported to mental health facilities.
“Mental Health Warrant Deputies recognize the dangers in serving these type of warrants,” the Sheriff’s Office said. The statement did not mention whether any of the other calls in the past year resulted in injuries.
The deputies involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave per department protocol, the Sheriff’s Office said.
At the request of the Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Rangers division responded to the scene and will lead the investigation into the shooting.
This was the third fatal shooting of a man by law enforcement officers in Tarrant County in January.
On Thursday, Jan. 30, a Fort Worth SWAT team member killed a man who police said had fired multiple rounds at officers during a traffic stop in Lake Worth and shot at officers again during a chase and a standoff at a northwest Fort Worth home.
On Jan. 15, Fort Worth officers killed a 28-year-old man who they said charged at them with knives during a domestic violence call on Westgate Drive.
Fort Worth officers also critically wounded a 31-year-old man who shot at them during a Jan. 9 standoff on Seafield Lane, police said.
Family members of the men shot on Westgate Drive and Seafield Lane also reported they were suffering from mental health crises.
This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 3:01 PM.
