An arrest affidavit states that the suspect involved in the shooting of a Dallas ISD police officer with the officer’s own weapon has been identified as Jose Pantoja-Morales, who was taken into police custody for the incident, which occurred in early August. The affidavit revealed the details of what happened as the event unfolded.
According to information from the affidavit, Dallas ISD police officer Justin Jones got a phone call at around 10:45 a.m. concerning a man walking along the median of LBJ Highway, close to Midway Road. The man walking along the highway was later identified as Pantoja-Morales, who willingly got into Jones’ police car and was given a ride to a nearby Walmart parking lot.
Jones was forced to stop his vehicle in between the parking lots of Walmart and Sam’s Club after Pantoja-Morales began pulling items out Jones’ work bag. Jones then pulled Pantoja-Morales out of the vehicle and was trying to turn him to face the car when the suspect started to resist. Both men ended up on the ground during the struggle.
At some point, Pantoja-Morales was able to wrestle Jones’ gun away from him and shoot him one time. According to a report from Fox 4 News, the suspect then fled the scene of the shooting on foot. However, after a short chase in the 400 block of High Summit Drive, he was detained by law enforcement officials and confessed to shooting Jones so he could escape custody.
Jones sustained extremely serious injuries, having been hit in the femoral artery by the bullet fired by Pantoja-Morales. The incident resulted in the suspect being charged with aggravated assault on a public servant. Jones had a tourniquet placed around the wound to help slow the bleeding and was immediately taken into surgery.
Jones has served with the Dallas ISD Police Department for 16 years and is a resource officer for White High School. “He was helping somebody in crisis, as we expect the officers to serve in the community. And we’re grateful to all the help that we have received. He’s in our prayers. We’re thankful,” Dallas ISD Chief Albert Martinez went on to say in a statement concerning the shooting.
“We thank Parkland, the amazing surgeons there at the trauma center that do what they do,” he added. As of this writing, it’s not known if Jones is still hospitalized. Folks on social media platform Facebook wished Officer Jones a speedy and full recovery. “Poor guy, prayers for a full recovery,” one person wrote. Another said, “Praying for your recovery.”
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“So many of our Thin Blue Line attacked or killed lately.. Please pray for our protectors … They risk their lives daily to keep us safe…Back the Blue!” someone else wrote on a post about the story. “Thank God for the fast response and great doctors! Praying for a speedy recovery mentally and physically!” a commenter went on to reply. “My goodness! What is wrong with people today!!!! We best be ready… the Lord’s hand is coming through her pretty quick!” another individual said.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video