The police chief of a small Texas town was killed Saturday while attempting to arrest a man on a warrant, authorities said.
Elmendorf Police Chief Michael Pimentel was shot once in the shoulder and once in the abdomen, Sgt. Jason Burchett told the San Antonio Express-News. Burchett declined to provide further details about the shooting in the town of around 1,500 about 25 miles southeast of San Antonio.
Phone calls for additional information weren't immediately returned to The Associated Press.
Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau told the Express-News that a 24-year-old man was taken into custody and will face a charge of capital murder of a police officer. Elmendorf Mayor Evelyn Lykins said in a news release that the person who was the subject of the arrest warrant that Pimentel was serving opened fire on the chief.
Lykins said Pimentel had served as police chief for more than a year.
"He embraced the community of Elmendorf not only as its head of law enforcement officer but also as a resident. We will miss him," the mayor said.
Steve McCraw, head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Pimentel is the fifth law enforcement officer to die in Texas this year. Three of the five were killed by gunfire. Thirteen officers died in the line of duty last year.
U.S. & World
"Every day police officers throughout the state risk their lives to protect their communities, and tragically sometimes they make the ultimate sacrifice," McCraw said.
