‘Suicidal individual’ dead in shoot-out with Socorro police

SOCORRO, Texas -- A gun battle between Socorro police and a "suicidal individual" late Friday night ended with the man's death, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said Saturday.

The shoot-out happened in the 10900 block of Burt Road around 10:20 p.m. after police responded to a call of a "suicidal individual in possession of a weapon."

When officers arrived on scene, they said they tried to approach the person to "de-escalate the situation" but the man fired a shotgun at officers.

Police returned gunfire, killing 60-year-old James Pharr at the scene, according to sheriff's officials.

The victim was armed with both a shotgun and a handgun, officials said.

No officers were injured in the exchange of gunfire, and authorities declined to say how many shots were fired.

Because it's an officer-involved shooting, the sheriff's office is handling the investigation of the deadly incident.