Update on SWAT call on N. Monroe.
Lt. Erick Bohannon - Special Crimes Unit
At approximately 1100 AM on May 20, 2016, officers of the Amarillo Police Department were dispatched to the 1100 block of N. Monroe on shots fired. Information was received that a BM shot at a BF in a car and she had her children with her. It was later determined that neither the woman nor her children were shot. The shots were fired near the intersection of 12th and N. Monroe and several witnesses heard them. The suspect was last seen in a vacant apartment complex at 1200 N. Monroe before police arrived. A witness came forward and confirmed to officers that the suspect was inside one of the apartments. The suspect was identified as Wesley Wayne Ford and he was reported to be armed with a handgun. The victim reported earlier that morning that Ford pointed a gun at her and possibly broke the window out of her car. Ford was also a suspect in an aggravated assault from the previous day where he fired a shot at the victim near Amarillo Blvd and Hughes.
Uniformed officers contacted the SWAT Team for assistance and Ford was seen walking in and out of different apartments within the complex. Additional officers were called to assist in securing a perimeter around the apartments. A felony warrant was obtained for Ford’s arrest for the shooting incident. Later, SWAT officers began introducing non-lethal chemical agent into apartments as they searched for Ford. Ford was eventually found deceased in an upstairs apartment with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Special Crimes was called to assist in the investigation and the CSIU was called to process the scene. Justice of the Peace Thomas Jones ordered an autopsy which will be performed in Lubbock on Monday morning at 9:30 AM. Special Crimes continues its investigation and asks for anyone with information about this case to call 378-9468.
Address/Location
Amarillo Police Department
200 SE 3rd Ave
Amarillo, TX 79101
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 806-378-4257