Off-duty deputy hailed as hero after shootout

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March 8, 2010

Associated Press Associated Press Mon Mar 08, 2010, 02:19 PM CST

DALLAS — DALLAS — An off-duty sheriff’s deputy was hailed as a hero Monday for killing a gunman who was headed into a Walmart in east Texas during a shootout with police and preventing further bloodshed.

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.

“Obviously, he saved lives,” Teague said. “There’s no telling what the guy was going to do in Walmart with those weapons.”

Authorities did not immediately release the name of the gunman, who they said fired at officers during a police chase moments before trying to enter the store.

The shootout began when police received a call that shots had been fired from a car 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 shot at the suspect six times, Teague said. It’s unclear how many times the suspect was struck.

Authorities say Robertson’s wound was caused by the shooter and not by Commerce police, who also may have struck the suspect.

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.”

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Off-duty deputy hailed as hero after shootout

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