Man fatally shot by officers on domestic call at northwest Fort Worth home, police say

A 28-year-old man who charged at Fort Worth police officers with a knife was fatally shot by the officers early Wednesday, police said. Family members said the man was suffering from a mental health episode.

Officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at a house in the 5800 block of Westgate Drive around 4:20 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15. A woman could be heard screaming and telling a man to stop hitting her, according to the 911 call sheet. The man was saying he was going to kill the woman, the 911 dispatcher reported.

When the officers arrived, they saw that the 911 caller was having trouble opening a metal screen door at the front of the house. They also saw a man inside who was armed with a knife, police said in a news release. The man was behaving aggressively toward the other people in the house, so the officers looked for another way to get in, police said.

The responding officers tried to force their way in at the back of the house, but the armed man charged them with a knife in his hand, the release states. The officers opened fire, shooting the man.

No officers or other people were injured in the incident, according to the release.

The man who was killed has been identified as Brandon Zachary Adame by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

‘I will miss him so much’

Adame’s family told the Star-Telegram that had schizophrenia and he “had episodes.” He lived in the home with his parents and other relatives. His mother called 911 Wednesday after he started hitting her, the family said.

“He would have episodes, and I guess he just had an episode this time — it wasn’t good for him this time,” Brandon Adame’s cousin Bryan Adame said.

“He just needed more help, and we weren’t there to help him,” Bryan Adame said.

He described his cousin as “a good kid” and said, “He had a lot of hopes for his life. He wanted to grow to be somebody, but things held him down.”

“We went our separate ways, like for quite a while, and it’s sad to think, you know, what has to happen for us to get close again,” Bryan Adame said.

Brandon’s mother, Elsa Adame, said Wednesday’s domestic disturbance began when her son hit her brother, who has Down syndrome.

After hearing a loud noise Elsa Adame, who was sleeping in the other room, got up and opened the door and her son “ran to me, and he pushed me against the floor ... and he hit me right here,” she said, showing a bruise on her head.

“I came over here to check on (my brother), and he hit me again,” she said. “He hit me right here, knocked me down again, and he started kicking.”

She went back to her room to call the police, and that is when her son grabbed a “big old” knife, Elsa Adame said.

“I heard that lady (a police officer) go, ‘pow, pow, pow, pow,’ eight times, and Brandon went, ‘Oh!” she said, sobbing.

A document that police gave the family showed that seven casings were taken as evidence from the scene. It’s unclear how many rounds struck Brandon Adame.

Bryan Adame questioned whether police could have subdued his cousin without using lethal force.

“You have other options on your belt, why shoot him eight times?” Bryan said.

Elsa Adame said her son wanted to be off his medication, because he wanted to get married and have children like everyone else, and he stopped taking medication at times.

“He was hugging me and kissing me last night,” she said. “Telling me that ‘I love you, Mom. If you die, I want to go with you.’”

Elsa Adame said her son would always help take care of her brother. She was drenched in tears when she said, “I will miss him so much.”

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Shooting happened near school

The shooting occurred across the street from Greenfield Elementary School, which is part of the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District.

In a letter to parents, school officials said there was an increased police presence due to a nearby incident, but the school opened at the regular time.

“Police confirmed there is no threat to our campus or community,” the letter stated.

The police union Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas said on social media that a regional attorney was responding to assist two officers who were involved in the shooting.

The Police Department’s Major Case and Internal Affairs units will investigate the shooting.