Law enforcement officials release limited details on last week’s deadly shooting in Lingleville.
- Sara Vanden Berge
- 21 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Erath County officials continue to hold details surrounding the Feb. 5 incident in Lingleville that left one man dead unusually close.
Sgt. Garrett Koonsman with the Erath County Sheriff’s Office oversees investigations and told Beneath the Surface News that the people involved will not be publicly named at this time.
He said that deputies with the ECSO were dispatched to an area off FM 8, near the Lingleville Store on Feb. 5.
(The Lingleville Store was not directly related and simply used as a landmark in the original press release, he said.)
When deputies arrived at the scene, Koonsman said they located a white male with apparent gunshot wounds. The individual was transported to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital where he died.
Another law enforcement official familiar with the case said prior to the shooting, the man was stopping cars in the middle of the road.
“It sounds like the guy was probably in some kind of mental or drug-related crisis and forced his way into (a woman’s) car,” he said.
“The guy that shot him followed them until she bailed out at Lingleville.”
He said the man was shot when he appeared to reach for a weapon.
Sgt. Koonsman would not confirm or deny this description of events, but did say the individual who discharged the firearm has not been charged with any crime and that the case will be presented to the Erath County grand jury.
Koonsman also included the following in his report to Beneath the Surface News.
“Chapter 9 of the Texas Penal Code identifies several instances in which an individual is justified in using deadly force against another.
“These include: defense of one’s self or defense of another and includes the prevention of imminent commission of specific offenses such as aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery or aggravated robbery.
“Chapter 9 further identifies that deadly force can be used when an individual knew or had reason to believe that the person against whom the deadly force was used unlawfully and with force entered, or was attempted to enter, an occupied habitation, vehicle or place of business or employment.”
