A Texas state trooper has died after he was shot multiple times in an ambush-style attack last week, officials said Wednesday.
Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Chad Walker, 38, was shot in the head and abdomen Friday evening after he stopped to assist a driver in a disabled vehicle near Mexia, Texas, about 75 miles southeast of Dallas, officials said.
Authorities identified the suspect as DeArthur Pinson Jr., 36, who was accused of emerging "from the driver’s seat of the disabled vehicle armed with a handgun" and firing "multiple rounds" at Walker through the patrol unit’s windshield after the trooper pulled up behind his vehicle.
Walker was taken to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Hillcrest in Waco, where he later died from his injuries, DPS said.
“Our DPS family is absolutely heartbroken at the loss of one of our brothers in uniform who was killed in the line of duty,” DPS Director Steven McCraw said in a statement posted on the agency's Facebook page. “Texas Highway Patrol Trooper Chad Walker was committed to protecting the people of Texas. His sacrifice will never be forgotten, and we ask that you keep his family, friends and colleagues in your prayers during the difficult days ahead.”
After officials issued an alert Saturday for Pinson's whereabouts, he was found dead that same evening from an apparent "self-inflicted gunshot wound" at a residence on Highway 84, west of Mexia, the department said.
Walker is survived by his wife and four children. He began his law enforcement career in 2003 and worked with the Department of Public Safety since 2015.
