Police officers in two cities used deadly force in overnight confrontations. A fleeing suspect was killed in Dallas; a suicidal man was shot and wounded in Fort Worth.

In Dallas, a rookie officer and his partner stopped a vehicle in the 6200 block of Highland Hills Drive in East Oak Cliff shortly after midnight Thursday.

Investigators said a passenger in the car, identified at 20-year-old Jacques Howard, jumped out and started running from Officer Eduardo Oliveros.

Howard "immediately jumped out of the car and ran parallel to a fence in front of the car," said Sgt. Gary Kirkpatrick, supervisor of the special investigations unit, which reviews officer-involved shootings. "He then tried to scale the fence," but his loose-fitting clothing became snagged.

When Officer Oliveros caught up to Howard, he saw that Howard was pointing a gun at him, Sgt. Kirkpatrick said. The officer then pulled his gun and fired, striking Howard several times. He was taken to Baylor University Medical Center where he died after undergoing surgery.

Meanwhile, the officer's partner, Senior Cpl. Gregory Rodriguez, had captured the driver of the vehicle, Donathon Birl, 22. Birl was arrested on suspicion of driving with a suspended license. He is now in the Dallas County jail.

Police recovered a revolver from Howard's hand and found a small amount of marijuana in the passenger seat.

Birl told investigators that "he didn’t understand why he (Howard) ran, and he didn't know that [his cousin] had a gun or marijuana on him," Sgt. Kirkpatrick said.

Officer Oliveros, who was hired in May 2007, recently graduated from the police academy and is still on training, police said. Cpl. Rodriguez has been on the force since 1994. Both men were placed on routine investigative leave.

In Fort Worth, a call for help from a northside home turned into a violent encounter.

Police responded to the call from a suicidal man around 9:20 p.m. Thursday. night. When he didn't answer his door, they forced their way inside.

"They believed — because no one would come to the door — that he'd possibly already injured himself and was in need of medical attention," said police spokesman Lt. Paul Henderson.

Officer C.C. Thomas said the 49-year-old man pointed a gun at him, so he opened fire, shooting him in the hand and torso.

The man was hospitalized in stable condition and could face charges for assaulting a public servant.

Officer Thomas, a 12-year veteran of the force, was not injured. Investigators said it appears he was justified in using deadly force pending a complete review of the case.

Dallas Morning News staff writer Tanya Eiserer, WFAA-TV photojournalists Mike Zukerman in Fort Worth and Bryan Titsworth in Dallas contributed to this report.