Officer Shoots Suspected Burglar
By: Kristen Kennedy
Updated: March 16, 2009
A man is in critical condition Saturday night after being shot by a Lubbock police officer late Friday night. Officer Jess Karren went out to a burglary in progress at 1902 63rd Street. Officers tell us Karren saw two men running from the house towards their car, and when Karren drew his pistol and yelled at the suspects to stop, they started driving towards him. Karren fired two shots at the driver, but was unable to catch up with their car. The driver was later found on a porch at Applegate Shady Acres Mobile Home Park just off of I-27, and was taken to UMC. Police say he had a gunshot wound to the torso. A neighbor who saw the whole thing says the South Lubbock neighborhood has just declined over time. "The neighborhood seemed safer when I first moved in and that was about 11 years ago, but it's been increasingly getting worse. Drug dealers, prostitutes, all kinds of such. I've been propositioned by a prostitute while carrying my kid to the store," says Bradley Morton.
Officer Karren is now on administrative leave temporarily. Police say that's standard policy for an officer involved in a shooting.
