A Cleburne police officer was wounded and a suspect was killed after a pursuit ended in gunfire at a busy Sam’s Club in Burleson.
A Cleburne police officer was shot in the leg Monday evening after a vehicle pursuit crossed several North Texas communities and ended in gunfire at a Sam’s Club in Burleson, where officers fatally shot the person they had been pursuing.
The confrontation on Aug. 24 brought officers from several agencies to the busy retail area along Interstate 35W and Burleson Boulevard.
Cleburne police said the wounded officer was taken to a hospital and was in stable condition later Monday night. The person pursued by police was pronounced dead.
Authorities had not publicly identified the officer or the person who died by early Tuesday. Investigators also had not released a complete account of who fired each shot or exactly how the officer was wounded.
The incident began about 6:50 p.m. when Cleburne police responded to a report of a person brandishing a firearm while inside a vehicle.
Officers arrived and a pursuit began, police said. The chase moved through Alvarado before continuing north on Interstate 35W toward Burleson, roughly 15 miles north of Cleburne.
The pursuit ended near the Sam’s Club along the interstate service road, close to State Highway 174. Gunfire followed near the store while shoppers and employees were still in the area.
Cleburne Mayor Derek Weathers said the wounded officer was stable and thanked the other police agencies that responded.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the officer,” Weathers said Monday night.
Police said there was no continuing threat to the public after the shooting.
Witness accounts described a fast-moving and confusing confrontation as patrol vehicles converged on the shopping center.
Michael Anthony Garcia, who was in the parking lot, said he saw a police vehicle strike a blue pickup before a person ran toward the store with officers behind him.
Sam’s Club worker Dylan Trim said he was near the front entrance when police cars arrived and he heard gunfire. Trim said he then saw a man carrying what appeared to be a long gun enter the store area as officers followed.
Garcia said he heard a shot followed by police gunfire and later saw the person fall.
Another witness video showed officers giving medical aid to the wounded Cleburne officer and applying a tourniquet.
Authorities had not confirmed every detail in the witness accounts by Tuesday morning, including the exact sequence and location of each shot.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said two of its deputies were involved in the broader incident, while officers and deputies from several other agencies responded after the pursuit reached Burleson.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, Burleson Police Department, Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office were among the agencies reported at the scene.
Burleson police said its officers were assisting but were not involved in the shooting itself.
The large response closed or restricted portions of the area around the store while investigators documented evidence and officers worked to secure the scene.
The city received the call reporting a critical incident just after 7 p.m. near the Sam’s Club along the I-35W service road.
Officials asked people to stay away during the investigation but said the immediate danger had ended.
The pursuit covered a major north-south corridor connecting Cleburne, Alvarado and Burleson in Johnson and Tarrant counties.
Cleburne sits south of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, while Burleson lies closer to Fort Worth along I-35W.
That route carries heavy commuter and commercial traffic, and the chase ended at a large shopping center rather than on an isolated roadway.
The setting placed employees and customers near the final confrontation and complicated the response as officers moved into the parking lot and store area.
Witnesses described people dropping what they were carrying and running after the first shots.
No injuries to shoppers or employees had been announced by early Tuesday.
Authorities also had not said whether any vehicles or nearby businesses were struck by gunfire or whether investigators recovered more than one firearm.
The Texas Rangers took responsibility for investigating the officer-involved shooting.
The Rangers, part of the Texas Department of Public Safety, commonly conduct independent investigations when local police officers or deputies use deadly force.
Investigators were expected to review physical evidence, witness interviews, police radio traffic and any available body-camera, dashboard-camera or store surveillance video.
They also must establish which officers fired weapons, how many rounds were discharged and whether the person pursued by police fired at officers before being killed.
Authorities had not announced criminal charges connected to the incident because the person at the center of the pursuit died.
Police also had not released that person’s name, pending formal identification and notification of relatives.
Additional information was expected after investigators completed initial interviews and scene processing.
Several important questions remained unanswered Tuesday.
Police had not provided details about the original report that someone was brandishing a firearm, including where in Cleburne the first call originated or what the caller reported seeing.
Officials also had not released information explaining what happened when officers first contacted the vehicle or why the driver continued north.
Authorities had not confirmed whether the person fired at police during the final confrontation, while witnesses told news outlets they saw a firearm and heard shots before officers returned fire.
Those accounts will be compared with video and physical evidence as investigators reconstruct the incident.
Authorities had also not identified the Cleburne officer who was shot, disclosed how long the officer had served with the department or said whether the officer would require additional medical treatment.
Garcia said the scene turned frightening within seconds as the pursuit reached the parking lot.
He told reporters he had never witnessed anything similar and found himself close to the confrontation.
After the officer was injured, Garcia said he considered using his belt as a tourniquet before other officers arrived with medical equipment.
Trim, who was working near the store entrance, described seeing coworkers run after gunfire erupted.
The accounts offered an early picture of the panic inside and outside the store, but investigators had not yet released surveillance footage or police video showing the full encounter.
Walmart, which owns Sam’s Club, said the safety of associates and members was a priority and that the company would cooperate with law enforcement during the investigation.
By early Tuesday, the Cleburne officer remained reported in stable condition and authorities said there was no ongoing danger to the community.
The Texas Rangers’ investigation was continuing, with additional details expected after investigators review evidence and determine the sequence of gunfire that ended the pursuit.
Last updated Aug. 25, 2026.