DPD: Gunman found dead after shooting paramedic
DALLAS - Police confirm a gunman was found dead in a home after he opened fire on a Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic while responding to an emergency call in Southeast Dallas Monday morning.
During an afternoon press conference, DPD says the call was initially about a dispute between neighbors around 11:30 a.m. on Reynolds Avenue, which is near Dolphin Road and Interstate 30.
A Dallas Fire Rescue unit got to the 3200 block of Reynolds Avenue first to find a civilian shot in the street.
Paramedics started treatment, and that's when police say the shooter, who FOX 4 has identified through sources as Derick Lamont Brown, opened fire on them, hitting one of the paramedics. The paramedic was not wearing body armor.
When the first responders got to the neighborhood, they reportedly spotted a man with a rifle walking down the street. He opened fire and a Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic was hit.
Dallas Police Chief David Pughes says the paramedic's life was saved by a sergeant who pulled him away from the scene and put him in his squad car as the shooter was firing.
According to a FOX 4 source, Sergeant Robert Watson put his own life on the line to save the paramedic.
City officials confirm the paramedic was rushed to Baylor hospital in critical condition but is now out of surgery and in ICU.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said a citizen was also injured during the shooting and is also in ICU.
A Dallas officer was also treated at the scene for a minor injury.
"Please keep the injured EMT and his family in your thoughts and prayers," the Dallas Police Department said on Twitter.
"There is another active shooter in Dallas. This time a fireman has been shot, and officers are pinned down by gunfire. Please pray!" the Dallas Police Association tweeted.
After an extensive perimeter search, Chief Pughes says they received information that the gunman was in a home on the same street. SWAT officers responded to the house and a robot was sent inside the home to find two people dead inside. Pughes says they strongly believe one of them is the gunman. The second body has not been identified.
"I wish he would've called me and talked to me," said Brown's sister, Dekisha Bryant. "I guess you just be careful of the people that you love. You never know what they're going through."
Bryant and other family members say Brown was living with his godfather. They said his godfather is the other person who was found dead in the home.
Sources tell FOX 4 the paramedic belongs to the Station 19 Urban Search and Rescue Team, among the most highly trained paramedics in Texas.
"Someone that was not mentally stable felt a lot of pain this afternoon, and our heroic paramedic stepped in to help a citizen putting their lives on the line," Rawlings said. "A police officer rescued that individual and now the doctors do their part. It's how we come together as a city."
All three people injured are expected to survive.