Of the many things that you should never do when you have a gun in your hand is point it in the direction of police officers, as one Laredo man fatally discovered. Some will say ‘it was only a pellet gun’ but a pellet gun is a lethal weapon that can inflict life altering injury.

A man shot and killed by Laredo police on Saturday, August 30th, was armed with a pellet gun and family members said officers fired more than 80 shots.

The Laredo Police Department placed six officers who allegedly opened fire on Jose Walter Garza, 30, on administrative duties pending an internal investigation of the incident, which occurred outside a truck stop on Saturday around 2 a.m., according to theLaredo Morning Times.

Police began firing at Garza after he “put his finger on the trigger guard and pointed at the officers.”  A surveillance video obtained by the Morning Times does not clearly show Garza threatening the officers but does show the man being shot and officers subsequently handcuffing him.

Laredo Police Chief Ray Garner said the shooting seems justified based on the circumstances, according to the Laredo Morning Times.

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