UPDATE: The suspect has been taken into custody. Read more.
LEVELLAND, Texas — A SWAT team leader was killed and three additional officers were wounded Thursday afternoon during a gun battle in a small West Texas town, according to reports.
The incident took place shortly after 1 p.m. and involved a barricaded man at a home on a residential street in Levelland, which is about 30 miles west of Lubbock. It wasn’t clear what created the standoff.
Three of the wounded officers were taken to a Lubbock hospital and one officer went to a Levelland hospital, following the barrage of bullets.
One of the officers taken to Lubbock, Sgt. Josh Bartlett, leader of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office tactical unit, died at the Lubbock hospital, according to a statement from the Justices of the Peace and Constables Association of Texas, CBS DFW reported.
Two other deputies, one from Lubbock County and one from Hockley County, were in critical condition, the association said. A Levelland police officer also was wounded.
News organization at the scene reported gunfire could still be heard as of 6:15 p.m. Thursday.
