An off-duty Tarrant County sheriff's deputy who was shot and hospitalized Monday while working a second job at a Fort Worth credit union is recovering, Sheriff Bill Waybourn told reporters Monday night.
Brent Brown, 35, was working at the Fort Worth Community Credit Union on 6454 Brentwood Stair Road when police said he was shot and had to undergo surgery.
”I am absolutely delighted to report that our deputy has successfully gone through surgery and the outlook is good," Waybourn told reporters Monday night.
The alleged gunman entered the credit union about 3:40 p.m. Monday, where police say he and Brown exchanged gunfire, according to the sheriff's office.
"Brent stood his ground, he did his duty, and the nobility of what he did today is what law enforcement expects out of all of our officers, and he did it well," Waybourn said.
The sheriff's office initially indicated the man — identified in Tarrant County arrest records as Leland Williams — pulled a gun on the bank teller, but later said they could not confirm whether that was accurate.
Officers arrived minutes later and the deputy — who was working as a security guard in full uniform at the time of the shooting — was rushed to John Peter Smith Hospital for surgery. He was recovering and in good condition in the hospital's intensive care unit as of Tuesday afternoon.
"It always hits close to home when an officer is violently injured by a violent criminal like this," said Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes. "But when it's the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, right here in our own backyard, it literally and figuratively hits close to home."
The alleged gunman fled the scene on foot. According to Tarrant County jail records, Williams was later arrested and charged with attempted murder Monday.
Williams received a $100,000 bond, but Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrels said his office requested the district judge raise the bond to $500,000.
"We are going to do everything we can to protect those who protect us," Sorrels wrote in a statement. "I am going to make sure that, like Officer Brown, we go the extra mile in seeking justice."
Tuesday evening his bond was set at $1 million.
KERA’s Paul DeBenedetto contributed to this report.
