FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth police officer early Sunday shot to death a man who pointed a handgun at him in the doorway of a house in the Eastwood section of the city, the police department said.
The police went to the house in the 4000 block of Wiman Drive about 11 p.m. Saturday when Taylor Grimes’ mother, Tijuana Bryant, called 911 and reported that he was damaging her house with a hammer.
In an interview with a reporter, Bryant said Grimes also used the hammer to bust the taillights of vehicles, and she called 911 when it appeared that he was going to break their windows.
During the 911 call, the call-taker heard the man say that he would hurt his mother if officers responded, according to a Fort Worth police spokesperson.
Officers saw the man come to the door holding a handgun, police said. He closed the door and would not leave the house.
The SWAT unit and hostage negotiators tried to convince Grimes, who was 29, to surrender and to allow his mother to leave the house, police said. Bryant eventually left.
As Grimes stood in the doorway pointing a handgun at an officer, police said, the officer fired upon Grimes, shooting him dead. He was pronounced dead in the living room about 2 a.m., according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Bryant, 51, said she does not dispute the police account. Her son was suicidal, she said.
“He wanted them to kill him,” Bryant said. “He got tired of living.”
Bryant said that Grimes had a dispute with her about money from the sale of vehicles that he believed was his. He found his mother’s handgun in her purse in the bathroom, then sat near the front door and put the gun to his head and inside his mouth, she said.
Bryant said she was sitting across the living room and she did not want to leave but he pushed her out the door. She believes that the police acted appropriately.
Bryant said that Grimes previously took medication for a mental illness. She said he was physically abused by his father and had an infant son who died earlier this year after being born prematurely.
Grimes was the fourth person shot by Fort Worth police officers in 2022. Three died.
Two officers shot a 38-year-old man who killed a hostage at the end of a vehicle pursuit on Interstate 35W on Aug. 28, the police have said. The man shot a woman inside the vehicle, and after police heard the gunfire, the officers shot the suspect, who died.
An officer shot a 39-year-old man who pointed a rifle at him at an apartment on Aug. 21, the police have said. The civilian survived.
Police had responded to a call of man threatening to kill himself in the 1200 block of Vincent Street.
Two officers on June 29 shot to death a 31-year-old man after, police reported to the Texas attorney general’s office, he “carried, exhibited, or used a deadly weapon” in the 3200 block of Olive Place.
Fort Worth police officers shot two people in 2021. Both died. One of the people was shot when he fired a gun at an officer, police have said. The other person was shot when he pointed what was later found to be a replica gun at an officer, police have said.
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