Dallas police shot a person Thursday morning after a vehicle pursuit ended in a crash in Red Oak, prompting state police to launch an investigation into the shooting, officials said.
Dallas police said on X that they were “aware” of a shooting on Interstate 35E in Red Oak, just south of Dallas. The Texas Rangers, the investigative arm of the Department of Public Safety, are overseeing the investigation.
The person shot by police, whose identity was not released, was transported to a Dallas hospital, according to a statement by Sgt. William Lockridge, a DPS spokesperson.
Prior to the shooting, the person crashed their vehicle into another motorist on the highway. The occupants of the second vehicle were also transported to hospitals, Lockridge said.
The circumstances leading up to the shooting and the crash were not immediately clear. While Dallas police initially said a public information officer was heading to the scene to provide updates, they later confirmed no news conference would take place and deferred questions to DPS.
DPS was not planning to host a news conference. “This is an ongoing investigation, and no further details are available,” Lockridge said.
The Ellis County Sheriff’s Office in a post to Facebook advised the public to avoid the area, but said the “scene is safe and there’s no danger to the public.”
The sheriff’s office said an investigation was ongoing and there would be a “large police presence” in that area and will be for “most of the afternoon.”
Officers were inspecting two crashed SUVs with their airbags deployed in the median between I-35E and an access road. A line of caution tape stretched over the access road and across much of the highway.
A man wearing a Red Oak police vest carried a camera and combed the grass near the wrecked cars, while other officers and detectives stood nearby.
Texas Department of Transportation crews were called to assist with traffic control on I-35E near Red Oak Road, said Kenna Mitchell, a TxDOT spokesperson.
Red Oak police stationed on the Red Oak Road bridge spanning I-35E directed motorists away from the crossing. A group of more than two dozen police cursers were stationed just off the highway.
Red Oak police did not immediately return a call seeking additional information. Deputy Jerry Cozby, a Ellis County sheriff’s office spokesperson, declined to answer questions seeking additional information about the shooting.
This is a developing story and will be updated.