MESQUITE, TX – A local police officer fatally shot a 19-year-old man amidst an investigation into a stolen vehicle. The drama began to unfold in the early hours of Thursday when the officer spotted a stolen car being tailed by another vehicle, both of which pulled into a convenience store located in an eastern Dallas suburb.
The officer found the stolen car deserted at the gas pumps and saw two men making a quick exit from the scene. Upon approaching the second vehicle, which was occupied by four individuals, the driver defied the officer’s instructions to turn off and halt the car.
In the ensuing confrontation, the officer fired his weapon thrice, hitting the driver, later identified as Payton Lawrence, a 19-year-old resident of Mesquite. The police also reported finding firearms within the vehicle.
The remaining three passengers in the vehicle were interrogated by the police. One of them, a 19-year-old from Dallas, was taken into custody due to existing warrants. The two men who had earlier fled the scene are still on the run. As of early Friday, there was no comment from a police spokesperson.