A man Denton police shot Sunday morning after he refused to drop his rifle has died, said Officer Ryan Grelle, spokesman for the Denton Police Department.
Justin Beltran, 26, died after being taken by CareFlite to Medical City of Plano.
Police received a phone call at about 2:30 a.m. that someone heard a gunshot fired in the 3600 block of Dunes Street, according to the police report.
As police arrived, vehicles were leaving the area, the report stated. Police stopped a woman who knew Beltran and she reported that he had become angry but she wasn’t sure why.
She and her brother were trying to calm him down, she told police. The woman reported she didn’t see him shoot off the gun, she only heard it.
One unspent rifle round was found in the middle of the road and one spent rifle casing was found a few feet away, the report stated.
Officers followed Beltran’s vehicle until it pulled into the 3300 block of Hartlee Field Road.
Grelle said there was never a pursuit.
“[Beltran] got out of his vehicle holding a rifle,” Grelle said.
Officers gave Beltran commands to drop his weapon but he didn’t comply and he was shot, the police spokesman said.
Police don’t know why he was shooting around Dunes Street, Grelle said. No one was injured there and no officers were injured.
The Texas Rangers have taken over the shooting investigation.
RACHEL MEHLHAFF can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is rmehlhaff@dentonrc.com .
