A police officer in Texas has died after being shot by a legal gun owner who mistook him for a burglar, according to local news reports.
Nathan Heidelberg, a 28-year-old officer who has served for five years with the Midland Police Department, was responding to a burglar alarm at about 8.30am local time on Tuesday morning when the incident took place.
He was shot by Texas resident David Charles Wilson, a legal gun owner who believed his house was being robbed. Wilson has been charged with manslaughter and was released on a $75,000 (£57,038) bond.
Mr Wilson has since claimed he “only fired his weapon to protect his family” in a statement his lawyer Brian Carney provided to the Midland Reporter-Telegram.
“We would like to express our deepest sympathies to Officer Heidelberg’s family and the Midland Police Department for the events that led to his death,” Mr Carney said.
Midland Mayor Jerry Morales called on the community “to come together” and “lift our fallen police officer” in prayer, calling the incident a “tragic loss” in a Facebook post this week.
The Midland Police Department also wrote a public statement mourning the loss of Mr Heidelberg that read, “It is with the utmost sorrow that we acknowledge the passing of our family member.”
“Officer Nathan Heidelberg, a five-year veteran of the Midland Police Department, represented the best in all of us. He was courageous, selfless, ethical and professional. Nathan treated others with respect, regardless of their demeanour or actions,” the statement, written by chief of police Seth Herman, continued. “We have lost not only a great officer, but a loving brother and the most positive example of what we should all aspire to be.”
“I wish I was more like Nathan,” he added.
Mr Wilson is reportedly cooperating with local authorities as investigators “attempt to learn all the material facts as soon as possible,” his lawyer told the local newspaper.
Officials can be heard discussing “shots” fired in a dispatch audio the police department released from the incident tough it remains unclear whether the officer returned fire during the shooting.
