Man armed with two knives shot at Edinburg Stripes

A man armed with two knives was taken down by an Edinburg police officer Tuesday morning between Sugar Rd. and University Drive after attempting to enter a Stripes, against police orders. 

The suspect identified as 33-year old Justin Lee Garza was taken to a nearby hospital.

Multiple calls were made by concerned patrons, with police forces being dispatched at 8:10 a.m. 

Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation as Garza approached the inside of the Stripes, after he refused to stop, an officer discharged one round. 

At the time of publication, Garza is known to be in “a critical but stable condition” at a nearby hospital in Edinburg, according to Jaime Ayala, Police Chief of Edinburg Police Department.

 The officer who shot the suspect is on administrative leave with pay.

During a press conference at the scene, Officer Ayala said Garza has an “extensive history” of mental health and substance abuse problems.

According to Officer Ayala, Garza has had multiple run-ins with the Police Department. He said that in an earlier incident on June 9, Garza trespassed on the top of a rooftop behaving erratically and was taken into custody. 

At the end of the press conference, Ayala said that yesterday afternoon, Tropical Texas Behavioral Health and Edinburg PD’s mental health crisis officers offered assistance to Garza, which he denied. 

“I just want our community to understand that we have those resources in place,” Ayala said.

The officer said that at no time was the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley at risk. 

Edinburg PD said this is an active investigation and are currently doing an administrative internal investigation.