Update: APD has revealed the identity of the hatchet-wielding suspect as 32-year-old Howard Wayne Watson Jr. He remains in the hospital in critical condition.

Original Article: APD revealed on Nixle this morning that one of their officers was involved in an early morning “officer-involved shooting” in the Chinaberry Road area.

According to the report, at 4:28 am, officers responded to the 1200 block of Chinaberry in reference to a prowler reported in the area. Officers, upon their arrival, discovered “multiple vehicles which had been broken into.”

After obtaining a description of the suspect, officers patrolled the area, looking for the man. One officer saw a person fitting the description cutting through neighborhood yards and pursued him to make contact, APD reported.

The officer approached the suspect and as he did, the man refused to follow the officer’s commands. The officer deployed his taser, which the suspect defeated. The suspect produced a hatchet, and the officer called in to report that “shots had been fired.”

The officer was alone with the suspect at the time of the shooting incident. It is unclear how many times the officer discharged his weapon, but, the suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

APD has initiated a crime scene investigation to investigate the incident.

Police say that they do not believe there were additional suspects.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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