x
Breaking News
More () »

Videos show moment Farmers Branch officer shoots driver in truck reported stolen

The Farmers Branch officer can be seen shooting into the driver's side of a truck as it makes a wide turn around him in a Dallas parking lot. The driver later died.

DALLAS — Two videos captured the moment a Farmers Branch officer shot and fatally wounded a driver of a truck reported stolen out of Irving.

The shooting happened in a shopping center parking lot early Wednesday night in Northwest Dallas. 

The videos show the officer get out of his car when the truck begins to pull out of a parking spot. As the truck makes a wide turn around the officer, he fires into the driver-side of the vehicle, which then crashes into nearby parked cars.

A separate video recorded at the scene shows the officer approach the crashed truck as another occupant of the crashed truck gets out and onto the ground.

RELATED: Suspect in truck theft killed by Farmers Branch officer in Dallas

The driver was identified as Juan "Johnny" Moreno. He was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Dallas police said the Farmers Branch officer who fired the shots was hurt but didn't release details as to how he was injured. He hasn't been identified. 

In the video, it appears the truck doesn't hit the officer and he seems to be physically OK after the shooting.

The officer was transported to a nearby hospital to be treated. Dallas police say they will talk with the officer when he's released from the hospital.

According to a Dallas police statement, everything started with Farmers Branch officers "monitoring a pickup truck that had been reported stolen out of the city of Irving."

Police said three people were inside the truck, which was backed into a parking spot at the shopping center in the 11400 block of Emerald Street in Northwest Dallas. 

The other two occupants inside the truck were uninjured and taken into custody for questioning. 

The Dallas Police Department's Special Investigations Unit is investigating the shooting. 

After video of the shooting surfaced on social media, Dallas police released another statement Thursday night:

The Dallas Police Department has obtained additional video evidence in this case and continues to investigate this officer-involved shooting. Detectives from the Special Investigations Unit will continue to interview witnesses along with the involved officer when he is released from the hospital.  The Dallas County District Attorney is also conducting an independent investigation of this incident.  Further updates will be added as the investigation progresses.

A spokesperson for Farmers Branch police told WFAA the department wouldn't comment until Dallas police finish their investigation.

Family of Moreno planned to hold a news conference Friday in Farmers Branch to address the shooting. 

"While the family recognizes that Juan 'Johnny' Moreno was involved in the theft of a vehicle, the sentence he was given was excessive, death by execution at the hands of a Police Officer, who served as judge and executioner," read a statement from Carlos Quintanilla, leader of the group Accion America, on behalf of the family. 

 

Before You Leave, Check This Out