Grandfather, 72 shot dead in his own driveway by rookie police officers while investigating neighbor's burglar alarm

• Jerry Waller, 72, was shot as he investigated the alarm of a neighbor across the street early on Tuesday morning
• Police officers instead responded to Mr Waller's home, where they encountered the man, who was armed
• Both officers had been with the Fort Worth Police Department for less than a year
  

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Published: 09:55 EDT, 29 May 2013 | Updated: 09:55 EDT, 29 May 2013

Tragic: The death of 72-year-old Jerry Waller, shocked the quiet Fort Worth community, where six shots rang out just before 1am

A Texas man was gunned down in his own driveway by police officers yesterday morning after he came out of his house to check out a neighbor's burglar alarm.

The death of 72-year-old Jerry Waller, shocked the quiet Fort Worth community, where six shots rang out just before 1am.

Mr Waller was reportedly awoke after a burglar alarm had gone off at a home across the street. He grabbed his .38 caliber handgun and went outside to investigate.

Police responding to the alarm instead went to Mr Waller's home, where they encountered him in his driveway and near the garage.

Fort Worth Police Cpl Tracey Knight told reporters that the officers - both rookies who have been with the department for less than a year - 'felt threatened' by the elderly grandfather - and shot him.

A neighbor, Fort Worth City Councilwoman Becky Haskin told the Star-Telegram newspaper: 'It is really an awful, terrible thing.'

She said that she was told by the police that an officer asked Waller to put down the weapon, but he would not comply.

Despite that claim, Mr Waller's brother, Johnny Waller, said that his brother would have dropped his gun if officers asked him to.

Mistake: Police responding to a burglar alarm at a neighbor's house instead wound up at Mr Waller's home, where they encountered the 72-year-old grandfather in his driveway

He told the paper: 'If the police said, "Drop the weapon," he'd have done exactly that. Jerry was a law-abiding citizen.'

The man's death has had the most impact on his wife, Kathy Waller - who blamed the officers for her husband's death, calling them 'trigger-happy.'

Kathy Waller told WFAA-TV: 'Married 46 years, and then somebody gets a little trigger-happy and away they go.'

She added: '[Jerry] would give you the shirt off his back and he was loving and he's a wonderful husband and I miss him dearly.

Love: Jerry Waller had been married to his wife Kathy for 46 years

Cpl Knight told the Star-Telegram: 'This is a terrible tragedy for everyone. A family has lost a loved one and a police officer has gone through a critical incident that no officer wishes for.

'Our hearts go out to the family of the homeowner as well as the officer and his family.'

Police would not say whether Waller fired his weapon, or if both officers had shot him. They have both been placed on administrative leave while the department investigates.