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Search for man suspected of shooting Rhome police officer continuesFree Access

WCSO offers $5,000 reward

The search for the man suspected of shooting a Rhome police officer Sunday night in New Fairview entered a new phase Monday.

Sunday night, dozens of police vehicles formed a massive perimeter around Farm Road 407, Farm Road 2264 and U.S. Highway 81/287. By 8 a.m. Monday, the search effort transitioned into a more broad fugitive investigation, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin said.

The Wise County Sheriff’s Office posted a $5,000 reward for information that would lead to the arrest of Royce Wood, 43, a suspect identified in the shooting of a Rhome police officer Sunday night.

“We have changed tactics. We had a perimeter, probably within a five-mile radius, throughout the night, and wrapped up the close proximity manhunt around 8 a.m.,” Akin said. “Right now, we’re looking at phase two, a full blown fugitive operation to try to locate and arrest the fugitive. We have expanded our area. It’s turned into an investigation.”

Texas Department of Public Safety Rangers and the Wise County Sheriff’s Office are conducting the investigation into the shooting, Rhome Police Chief Eric Debus said Monday afternoon in a press release.

The Wise County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) posted a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest of Royce Edwards Wood, 43, Monday afternoon. Wood is considered armed and dangerous, Akin said.

Wood was identified by the Wise County Sheriff’s Office as the primary suspect in a shooting that left a Rhome police officer hospitalized after the officer attempted to perform a traffic stop.

According to the WCSO, Wood is a white male, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, with brown hair, green eyes, bald with a full beard. Wood was last seen on foot, wearing a baseball hat with a camo bandanna tied around it, also wearing black sunglasses, a vest, a green shirt and shorts.

Akin said the WCSO has already received around 100 tips since last night.

Before the shooting, Wood, a suspect in a Saturday home invasion robbery in a nearby neighborhood, was spotted a few miles south of the location riding a motorcycle near Farm Road 407 in New Fairview Sunday evening, Akin said.

Police were tipped off to his location and a Rhome PD unit was the first to locate Wood, who was traveling on a motorcycle with a female passenger.

After the officers attempted to pull the motorcycle over, Akin said Wood stopped the motorcycle, fled on foot and fired several rounds at the Rhome police officers.

“He turned and fired some rounds and hit one of the Rhome officers in the lower leg,” Akin said Sunday. “… A Rhome officer returned fire, but there’s no indication that he was struck.”

A female passenger riding on the back of the motorcycle with Wood when he was pulled over was detained and released from custody Sunday night, Akin said.

Wood’s whereabouts remain unknown.

The Rhome police officer who was shot during the traffic stop is expected to be OK. Akin said he was alert and in good spirits Sunday night.

The names of the officers involved in the traffic stop have not been released. Rhome police chief Eric Debus said the only information that the department would be releasing at this time would be included in a press release that was issued Monday at around 4 p.m.

Debus’ first day with Rhome PD was last Monday. The newly-hired police chief said his team has come together as a family after one of their own was shot in the line of duty.

“In a department this size, we’re all family,” Debus said. “In times of stress and trouble, families pull together. I would say we have done an outstanding job of that during this time.”

If spotted, Akin cautioned citizens against approaching Wood. Instead, he said to call 911 immediately.

Royce Wood. Photo courtesy of the Wise County Sheriff’s Department.

Additionally, to report anonymous tips that would lead to the arrest of the suspect, the WCSO is asking citizens to contact Crime Stoppers of Wise County by calling 800-643-8477 or 940-627-8477.

This is not Wood’s first time fleeing police on foot, according to a 2013 report from KCBD 11, a TV news station in Lubbock.

In 2013, Wood, then 35, was arrested for burglary of a habitation and evading arrest, KCBD reported. Police said in the 2013 report that Wood forced entry into a home, ransacked the residence, assaulted a disabled female and fled the area on foot before he was found on the roof of a residence and taken into custody.

When asked if Wood’s reported history would make him more difficult to locate, Akin disagreed.

“It makes it easier for us,” Akin said. “We do know he has the potential to be a dangerous man. That concerns us. We want to make sure the citizenry in general take caution, don’t approach the guy, call 9-1-1. He is experienced in the criminal misbehavior world. He also has a significant criminal history that I can’t divulge right now with law enforcement.”

 

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