Texas shooting leaves one police officer dead

WASHINGTON: One police officer was killed and four wounded after a man barricaded himself inside a west Texas home in an hours-long SWAT standoff, local US officials said.

The shooting erupted in Levelland, which is about 50-km west of the city of Lubbock, around 2 pm local time (1900 GMT) on Thursday.

A 22-year-old man, identified as Omar Soto-Chavira, was apprehended after eventually surrendering to officers late Thursday night, Lubbock24 news reported, citing Levelland Police.

It remains unclear what motivated the stand-off.

Lubbock County police said they were “mourning the loss of one of our own, tonight, SWAT Commander Sergeant Josh Bartlett.”

The statement said the SWAT team had responded at “the 1100 block of 10th Street in Levelland at 2:15 pm on Thursday,” to assist officers following reports of “a barricaded subject”. They confirmed that “gunfire was exchanged” and sergeant Bartlett was shot.

He was transported to Covenant Medical Center in Levelland with life-threatening injuries, the police said on their official Facebook account, adding he was later pronounced dead.