BEAUMONT, Texas — An Orange County deputy was injured and a 39-year-old man from Orange was fatally shot in what is being described as a "violent confrontation" Wednesday morning in Orangefield.
Just after 8 a.m. September 4, an Orange County deputy was sent to home on Granger Ln, in Orangefield, after a man was reported to have been making threats to his neighbors, according to a news release from the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
The deputy arrived to speak to Colby Granger, 39, of Orange, who the sheriff's office says has a history of mental health issues, at about 8:20 a.m. Shortly after they began talking, the deputy was assaulted by Granger and a "violent confrontation" began, according to the news release.
During the fight the deputy was able to pull his weapon and shoot Granger.
Granger was pronounced dead at the scene while the deputy was taken by ambulance to a Southeast Texas hospital to be treated for "multiple injuries," according to the news release.
Investigators with the Texas Rangers are investigating the fatal shooting, according to Capt. Joey Jacobs.
The campuses at the elementary, junior high and the high school were put on a lockdown as a precaution at about 8:40 a.m. due to an incident in a nearby neighborhood, according to a Orangefield Independent School District official. By 8:55 a.m. the district reported that the lockdown had been discontinued.
This is the sixth fatal officer-involved shooting in Southeast Texas this year including four in Beaumont and one in Jasper.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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