Little Elm Detective Killed, Suspect Later Found Dead

Posted on January 18, 2017
Photograph courtesy of the Little Elm Police Department.
Photograph courtesy of the Little Elm Police Department.

LITTLE ELM (WBAP/KLIF News) – A police detective has died after being shot while answering a report of an armed man outside a home in Little Elm.

“It is with a heavy heart and sadness that we announce the passing of Detective Jerry Walker,” said Police Chief Rodney Harrison during a news conference this evening.  “He was a model officer and a person who will be missed here at the department and in the Town.”

Police said the incident began around 3:00 p.m. Tuesday in the 1400 block of Turtle Cove.  Denton County sheriff’s Lt. Orlando Hinojosa says officers arrived to find a man with a gun screaming at them from a backyard.  Walker, 48, was among the first officers to arrive on scene.  “Officers established a perimeter to contain the situation when they were met with gunfire from inside the home.  Police returned fire.  It was at this initial exchange that Detective Walker was wounded,” the department said in a news release.  Schools in the area were put on lock down as a precaution.

memorial-4Walker was taken to Denton Regional Health Center where he later died.  He is the first Little Elm officer killed in the line of duty.  Walker had been on the force for 18 years.  He is survived by four children, the youngest a few months old and the oldest 22. Services for Detective Walker are pending.

Little Elm Fire Chief Brian Roach spoke to reporters Tuesday night prior to the announcement of Walker’s death.  “I know he’s been here a very long time. He is a staple of Little Elm and very well-known in the community,” he said.

The man suspected of shooting Det. Walker was later found dead.

Shortly after news broke of Walker’s death.  People started a makeshift memorial at police headquarters.  Support also poured out on social media.

Copyright 2017. WBAP/KLIF. All Rights Reserved.

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