The officer fumbles a reload near the end of the video. This happens when he passes his gun from his right hand into his left, and uses his right hand to unbuckle the seat belt. He then keeps holding the gun in his left hand, pulls out a magazine with his right and attempts to insert it the wrong way around. He has likely never or very rarely trained to reload his gun in this manner as it’s a fairly uncommon situation – firing a gun while driving and then unbuckling a seatbelt to exit the vehicle during a reload. Whenever something is attempted for the first time under stress, errors will almost certainly occur.
Summary of the incident below:
About two hours after a man was shot and killed near Eastern and Owens, officers attempted to stop the suspect’s vehicle but they did not comply. Officers followed the suspects, exchanging gunfire until the suspects crashed into a wall at Hollingworth Elementary School.
Kelly said one suspect, identified as Rene Nunez, 30, got out of the vehicle and ran up the stairs to the school. The door to the school was locked. The suspect in the passenger seat, identified as Fidel Miranda, 23, moved to the driver’s seat and started to move the vehicle back towards the officer’s car.
“Regarding shooting at or from a moving vehicle, our policy reads in part, it is policy of this department that officers will not discharge a firearm at or from a moving vehicle unless it is absolutely necessary to preserve human life,” Kelly said.
Officer Paul Solomon fired one round from a shotgun at Miranda. He was placed in handcuffs, provided medical attention but was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.
Nunez, who was also injured in the shooting with police, was arrested and taken to University Medical Center for treatment, Kelly said.
Kelly said the suspects fired 34 rounds at officers. Officer William Umana fired 31 rounds at the suspects and Solomon fired one round.
Both officers were placed on routine paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.