CLAY COUNTY, Texas — A deputy with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office was shot in the chest during a traffic stop Monday night southeast of Wichita Falls, according to authorities.
Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde said on Facebook that Deputy Brent Chitwood sustained the hit from a gunman at the Jolly Truck Stop. A statewide Blue Alert was issued Monday night after the shooting.
The gunman fled in a white Cadillac four-door sedan that is believed to have been stolen, Texas plate (FXJ 1334), according to NBC DFW.
Despite a response from multiple allied agencies to the shooting, the suspect managed to avoid detection and fled the area.
“We threw a net around this place and unfortunately didn’t get him. I’m hoping that he’s leaking somewhere,” Lyde said.
The sheriff said his injured deputy described the gunman as a “white male, mid-20s, kinda thin, didn’t get a real good look because as soon as he got to the door frame he got shot in the chest.”
Moreover, the vehicle will be unique since the back glass should be blown out that “it should have holes all in the trunk.”
Fortunately, Chitwood was hit in his body armor and is expected to be all right. Lyde said he was able to return fire multiple times but it’s not clear if he hit the suspect, NBC DFW reported.
“To the guy who did this today, you didn’t get my guy. You shot him in the vest. You didn’t get him. But we are going to get you. Bet that,” Lyde said on Facebook. “Deputy Chitwood is going to be absolutely OK.”
In a separate video posted to Facebook Monday night, Lyde was in the hospital room with the deputy and showed the beginning of a bruise that will become much larger on his chest where the body armor protected him from the round.
There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the gunman, $5,000 from Wichita Falls Crime Stoppers and another $5,000 from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. If you have information, you can call Crime Stoppers at (940) 322-9888.
