Authorities have identified the man shot to death by a Snyder Police Department officer during an altercation in west central Snyder Thursday evening.
Morgan Shane West, 38, of Snyder, was declared dead at the scene of the altercation, which occurred shortly after 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the 3600 block of Jacksboro Ave.
The preliminary cause of death has been ruled as a gunshot wound, according to information released by the department Friday.
Snyder officers had responded to the scene in reference to a suspicious person call. When Officer Whitney Merket arrived at the scene, she made contact with a male subject and an altercation began, a police department news release stated.
“During the altercation, the officer fired her weapon and the suspect was shot,” the release stated. “(He) was later pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace Norma Martinez.”
Numerous first responders, including personnel with the police department, Scurry County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Snyder Fire Department and Scurry County EMS, responded to the incident and the street was closed to traffic for several hours.
Merket, a seven-year veteran with the police department, has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting, the news release stated.
SPD Chief Brian Haggard said that the Texas Rangers will head the investigation into the shooting.
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