A Dallas police officer faces a manslaughter charge after she shot and killed a 26-year-old man when she walked into the wrong unit in her apartment building. The District Attorney’s office and the Texas Rangers have been called in to help with the investigation.
The female officer had just completed her late shift and was in full uniform when she walked into the wrong apartment at the South Side Flats and mistakenly believed the unit was her own, according to the NY Daily News.
The cop encountered Botham Shem Jean inside the apartment and shot him dead around 10. p.m. Thursday. Botham was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The South Side Flats is located only a block from the Dallas Police headquarters. The officer had recently moved into her apartment and she may have been confused when she saw the clean-cut young man inside the unit.
“At some point, she pulled her weapon and shot the victim,” Sgt. Warren Mitchell told reporters at a press conference Friday morning.
Mitchell declined to reveal any other details, such as whether the cop knew Botham.
A woman who lives in South Side Flats apartments told WFAA the doors are opened with electronic key fobs rather than keys. She said each key fob is programmed to each unit, and she could not understand how the officer got inside the wrong apartment.
“Somebody has to be crazy not to realize that they walked into the wrong apartment. He’s a bachelor. Things are different inside,” Jean’s mother, Allie Jean, told NBCDFW.
“And if you try your key and it doesn’t work, that should make you realize you’re at the wrong apartment.”
Photo by Caiaimage/Chris Ryan
