Texas Rangers still trying to identify man killed in officer-involved shooting

A day after a man was fatally shot and killed following a chase by police, his identity is still unknown.

According to Cleveland Police Chief Darrel Broussard, the man is described as a black male, approximately 30-50 years of age, and he is unknown to local law enforcement personnel.

“We believe he might be from the Houston area,” Broussard said.

The man was not carrying any form of identification and the vehicle he was driving was stolen.

He was killed on Monday after he reportedly stole a vehicle at gunpoint from Martin Chevrolet in Cleveland and then led police on a chase both north and south on US 59. He was eventually stopped about a mile south of the SH 105 and US 59 intersection by spike strips that were placed in the roadway.

The spike strips blew out two of the vehicle’s tires, bringing the vehicle to a halt. At that point, the suspect then jumped from the vehicle and tried running across the northbound lane of travel of US 59.

“He was brandishing a gun and pointed it at two officers who were on the scene and they fired their weapons at him,” Broussard said in earlier reports.

Bluebonnet News initially reported that the man was shot twice but that appears to be inaccurate. Broussard declined to say exactly how many times the man was shot.

Texas Rangers have taken over the investigation. The two officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave as is the protocol during officer-involved shootings.