Texas Police Officer Killed in Ambush

Hofer and fiance
Facebook Photo
Bob Price

A police officer from Euless, Texas, was shot and killed on Tuesday while responding to a shot-fired call. He and another officer were ambushed by the suspect. The second officer was able to return fire, striking the suspect.

Police Officer David Hofer, 29, was killed by a man who had just burglarized a home and had stolen several guns. The suspect apparently fired several shots in the air and then hid in a ditch located in a park while he waited for police to arrive.

22-year-old Jorge Brian Gonzales lay in wait for the police approach his hidden location. Officer Hofer was heard ordering Gonzales to stand down. Instead, the meth addict stood up and opened fire, striking Officer Hofer. The officer would later die from his wounds, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Police officers returned fire, striking and killing Gonzales. The suspect had appeared before judge earlier in the day where he received an order to perform community service on a public intoxication charge. Shortly after that, he burglarized the home in Euless and set up the ambush.

Euless Police Chief Michael Brown said Gonzales stole the guns and hid in the ditch to “ambush” his officers. “We lost one of Euless’ finest yesterday,” Brown told reporters during a Wednesday media conference. “We are grieving as a department and as a community.”

“I have no idea what was going through his mind,” Brown explained. “In my honest opinion, he was there to do as much damage to responding officers as he could possibly do.”

Gonzales’ family blamed the court for releasing the man from jail. “It’s their fault,” his father, Jorge Antonio Gonzalez, told reporters with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Why would they let him out when he was on that stuff?”

The 22-year-old meth addict had a long history with the police. His family said he was only violent when he was on the drugs.

When Gonzales’ sister, 17-year-old Jennifer Gonzales, heard there had been a shooting in Euless, she actually joked and said, “That’s my brother.” She said she told her friend, “Just kidding, he’s in jail right now.”

Hofer was a two-year veteran of the Euless department, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). He had previously served for five years in the New York City Police Department.

The Fort Worth Star Telegram reported that Hofer had moved to Texas with his girlfriend, Danylyk, because he felt it would be safer than being an NYPD cop. His former NYPD partner, Jesse Barocas, said he felt the people of New York didn’t respect police officers as much as Texans do. “He felt it was safer in Texas,” Barocas told the Fort Worth reporter. “He felt the community rallied around police officers more.”

In the past thirty days, ten police officers have been shot and killed in the line of duty, the ODMP reports. Breitbart Texas reported on Monday about the murder of Prince William County Police Officer Ashley Guidon who was shot and killed during a domestic violence call where the suspect had murdered his wife. Officer Guidon and her partner were also allegedly ambushed by the suspect, Army Staff Sergeant Ronald Hamilton. Guidon had just been sworn in as a police officer the day before the shooting.

Euless Police Officer David Kofer was the 16th police officer killed in the line of duty this year.

Bob Price is a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. He is also a Life Member of the NRA. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.

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