After 15-hour Frisco standoff, gunman arrested in trooper shooting that was caught on video

Dallas News  – by Tom Steele, Marc Ramirez

Hours after a motorist shot a state trooper who tried to stop him for a traffic violation Friday afternoon, a suspect was taken into custody early Saturday following a 15-hour standoff at his Frisco apartment complex.

Bryan M. Cahill, 42, of Frisco was arrested by SWAT officers about 5 a.m. Saturday, after authorities say he fired multiple gunshots at officers during negotiations. 

Cahill was taken to an area hospital for treatment of serious injuries. After that he’ll be booked into the Collin County Jail and charged with aggravated assault against a public servant, said Lonny Haschel, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. His bail was set at $500,000.

The trooper, whom authorities hadn’t yet identified, was hospitalized in stable condition and underwent successful surgery Friday evening.

The incident started around 2:15 p.m. Friday, when the trooper tried to stop the motorist on northbound Dallas North Tollway near Spring Creek Parkway for a traffic violation, Haschel said. Instead, the driver fled, continuing north for about four miles.

The motorist then exited the tollway and stopped in the parking lot of La Valencia at Starwood apartments in the 6800 block of Lebanon Road.

At some point afterward, the motorist shot the trooper, Haschel said.

Video obtained by The Dallas Morning News shows the trooper taking cover behind his DPS vehicle and exchanging gunfire with the suspect, who neighbors said lived in the complex.

The video shows that after being struck, the trooper retreats behind the SUV, hopping on one leg. After another volley of gunfire he falls backward, his hat flying off, then manages to crawl to his feet again behind his vehicle.

Frisco police arrive about a minute later and move the trooper to safety.

The trooper was taken to Texas Health Presbyterian Plano hospital, Haschel said. Authorities didn’t say where on the body or how many times the trooper had been shot, but Haschel said later that the procedure had gone well.

Just before 9 p.m., Frisco police said there had been “no change” in the situation and that it was being treated as a barricaded person. Three loud blasts were heard in the complex several minutes later.

Negotiations continued throughout the night.

Law-enforcement officials from a number of agencies — including Frisco, McKinney, Plano, Little Elm and Richardson police, state troopers and the FBI — converged on the apartment complex after the shooting.

The DPS SUV could be seen several car lengths behind a green Pontiac Firebird that had its driver’s door open and bullet holes in its back windshield. A long gun was on the ground nearby.

Across the street, Starwood Montessori School was placed on lockout, and parents lined up outside before eventually being allowed to pick up their children.

Around 5 p.m., authorities began searching the Firebird, KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported. Officers in heavy gear were seen escorting apartment residents away from the buildings.

The Plano police bomb squad arrived at the scene around 7:30 p.m.

Scott Bowers, who lives at the apartment complex, said that he was playing video games when he heard pops outside that he thought were firecrackers at first. But when he looked outside and saw a man with a gun, he took shelter and waited for authorities to come to him.

“I was laying on the floor for three hours, shaking,” he said. A SWAT team escorted him out of his apartment around 6:20 p.m.

Police asked people to avoid the area and for nearby residents to remain indoors while authorities worked to safely defuse the situation.

Residents who had stayed away from the complex during the standoff began returning to their apartments around 7 a.m., directed by police officers. They were asked to park at nearby locations and to walk to their homes with the location still an active crime scene, Frisco police said.

UPDATE: For residents of La Valencia, Officers are on scene helping you get back to your home. Please park at another location and walk into the complex as it is still a crime scene. All but building 4 is open to return. Eastbound Lebanon still closed. Thank you for your support!

— Frisco Police (@FriscoPD) March 30, 2019

All buildings except for Building 4 of the complex, where the standoff took place, were open, and all major roadways were reopened by just after noon.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/frisco/2019/03/29/frisco-police-respond-apartment-complex-after-incident-involving-state-trooper