Dallas police released video on Tuesday of the incident involving a woman who fired a gun at Dallas Love Field before an officer shot her.
The woman wearing a black hoodie looked to be aiming the weapon in the air late Monday morning, before bringing it down and pointing it straight, prompting 15-year Dallas police veteran Ronald Cronin to immediately shoot.
The surveillance footage was played with no sound, but passengers in the terminal could be seen in a panic, running away, taking over and hitting the floor.
“I’m very proud of him (the officer),” Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia told reporters. “If it was appropriate, I would have given that officer a medal right here in front of all of you today.”
Before the suspect pulled a gun, she told bystanders she had an announcement to make, police said.
“(The suspect) started to ramble, talking about a marriage, incarceration and that she was going to blow up the airport and then pulls a handgun form her sweatshirt,” Garcia said.
She fired “multiple rounds” into the ceiling at 11:06 a.m. CDT before Cronin ordered her to drop her weapon, Garcia said.
That’s when the woman lowered the weapon and pointed it toward Cronin and a bystander, Garcia said.
The officer could be seen quickly taking cover behind a ticketing kiosk before angling himself to shoot the suspect.
Chief Garcia praised his officer’s fast work for bringing down the armed woman before anyone could be harmed.
“The goal is to neutralize a threat. You have to shoot to stop the threat,” Garcia said of the officer, who fired eight or nine rounds, striking the woman multiple times.
Suspect Portia Odufuwa, 37, underwent surgery and faces charges that include aggravated assault on a public servant, Garcia said.
The suspect claimed she’s married to R&B singer Chris Brown, according to a police affidavit and witness Colby James, 33, a machinist from St. Martinville, Louisiana.
“Her husband was cheating and her husband was Chris Brown,” James told NBC News. “The singer Chris Brown. I think she was delusional.”
Representatives for the artist could not be immediately reached for comment.
This is a developing story, please refresh here for updates.
Anthony Cusumano and Diana Dasrath contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
