Officer, two other men injured during incident; Rangers to investigate

Justin man dies after being shot
Officer, two other men injured during incident; Rangers to investigate
12:23 AM CDT on Friday, September 16, 2011
By Donna Fielder / Staff Writer
JUSTIN — Gunshots disturbed the quiet of this little town in southwestern Denton County early Thursday. Before calm was restored, one man was dead and three were wounded — one of them a Justin police officer.

Police and paramedics arrived shortly before 9 a.m. at the 500 block of Fourth Street in response to two calls.

The first call, at 8:43 a.m., was from the family of a man who was threatening suicide, according to reports. Seven minutes later, while Officer Kevin James was still on his way, another call came from the house saying the suicidal man had fired a shotgun at his father and grandfather.

A shot was fired at James while he was in the front yard, so he returned fire. One of the men in the house, Brodie Stewart, 29, was struck and was declared dead on arrival at a Denton hospital.

Jody Gonzalez, the county’s emergency response director, said that the Justin officer was struck in the left forearm and upper arm with pellets from the shotgun. He was in stable condition Thursday afternoon, officials said.

“Justin Chief Bill Brooks went to the officer’s house and picked up his wife and daughter and took them to the hospital,” Gonzalez said. “He is undergoing surgery.”

The others injured were Brodie Stewart’s father, Bobby Stewart, and his grandfather, Bud Stewart. They were taken by air ambulance to different Dallas-Fort Worth area hospitals, Gonzalez said. Bobby Stewart was struck in the abdomen by a shotgun blast and Bud Stewart was struck in the arm. Both are listed in stable condition, the emergency manager said.

Because the shooting involved a police officer, the Texas Rangers will investigate, he said.
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