DALLAS -- An off-duty sheriff's deputy was hailed as a hero Monday for preventing further bloodshed by shooting at a gunman who was headed into a Walmart in east Texas following a shootout with police.
Delta County Deputy Paul Robertson was shot in the chest Sunday as he exchanged gunfire with the man at the store in Commerce, Sheriff Gerald Teague said. The suspect died. Authorities say they are unsure whether Robertson or Commerce police fired the fatal shots.
"Obviously, he saved lives," Teague said. "There's no telling what the guy was going to do in Walmart with those weapons."
Authorities identified the gunman as 29-year-old Artenio Rodriguez of Commerce. A working telephone number could not be located for his family.
The incident began when police received a call that Rodriguez was firing shots into the air in nearby Greenville, about 50 miles northeast of Dallas. Commerce police intercepted the car just outside the city limits, where the man exchanged gunfire with officers, city spokeswoman Marty Cunningham said.
He then drove to Walmart and tried to enter the store carrying a handgun and an assault rifle. Robertson, a father of two, was inside shopping with his wife.
"He heard the commotion and people screaming," Teague said. "He told his wife to go to the rear of the store. The man was just outside the store where the entrance is. He ordered him to put the weapons down and the guy didn't."
Robertson identified himself as a law enforcement official and ordered Rodriguez to drop his weapons, Cunningham said.
Robertson shot at the suspect six times, Teague said. It's unclear how many times the suspect was struck. Police also fired on him from the parking lot.
Authorities say Robertson's wound was caused by the shooter and not by Commerce police.
The deputy was texting friends and talking on the telephone Monday and expected to be released from the hospital later in the day, Teague said.
"He's doing great," Teague said. "He is very courageous."
Rodriguez has had past run-ins with the law. He received deferred adjudication after being charged with evading arrest in Paris in 2002. The Dallas Morning News reports that records show Rodriguez had past arrests in Hunt County for possession of between five and 50 pounds of marijuana and driving while intoxicated.
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