STAR-TELEGRAM/LAURIE L. WARD Arlington police investigate the shooting of a suspected carjacker Wednesday at an apartment complex at Trinity Circle and Northeast Green Oaks Boulevard.

An Arlington police officer stands watch near the area where a carjacking suspect was shot and killed by police Wednesday. The man fired at police after fleeing on foot.

(Henry) BURNS

STAR-TELEGRAM DAMIKO G. MORRIS POLICE SHOOT SUSPECT

ARLINGTON - A police chase that began in Fort Worth ended at a north Arlington apartment complex Wednesday morning with a carjacking suspect dead in a hail of police gunfire.

Don Henry Burns, 41, died at the scene after receiving medical attention from officers and paramedics, police spokesman Sgt. Will Johnson said.

During the chase, Burns randomly fired shots from the stolen 1990 red Ford Bronco that he was driving, nearly hitting motorists and officers, and he tried to steal several cars at gunpoint, Johnson said.

The chase ended at the Rivercrest Village Apartments in the 700 block of Northeast Green Oaks Boulevard, where Burns fled from the vehicle just before 11 a.m. and ran toward a breezeway that led through the complex, continuing to fire a gun while on foot, Johnson said.

Three officers returned fire, Johnson said.

Resident Kevin McDaniel said he heard sirens and walked to his balcony in time to see the shooting.

"I couldn't believe it," McDaniel said. "I heard what sounded like a small-caliber gun, and then I saw the three officers firing their weapons."

Forest Hill police said the Bronco was stolen at 10 a.m. when a man was lured to the rear of a house and beaten. The victim suffered a head injury but was expected to recover, police said.

Forest Hill police said they alerted Fort Worth officers that the gunman was headed their way.

Lt. Jesse Hernandez, a Fort Worth police spokesman, said police saw the vehicle near Rosedale Street and Southeast Loop 820 and pursued the driver until they lost him on Pioneer Parkway near Arlington's city limits.

Arlington police picked up the chase about 10:40 a.m. after the suspect tried to carjack a truck in the 500 block of Norwood Circle and a resident called 911, Johnson said.

Elin Heinemann said she was standing in the yard of her duplex watching her 22-month-old and 3-year-old boys play when the man sped down Norwood Circle in the Bronco.

She said the suspect pointed a handgun at her and a friend and ordered her friend to give him the keys to his truck. He also yelled for Heinemann to get her children, and he might have been looking for hostages, she said.

"By the look on his face, he didn't care whether he lived or died," Heinemann said. "That's why we all think we are lucky to be here now."

Heinemann, her children and the owner of the truck fled to the next-door neighbor's apartment.

The neighbor, David Gruver, said he called 911, locked his front door and told everyone to run into the back yard.

The suspect could be heard shooting outside and fired at least three .45-caliber rounds into the truck he tried to steal, Gruver said. Other shots were fired, but Gruver said he didn't know what the gunman was shooting at.

Gruver watched from his window as the man tried to start the truck, but failed. He tossed the handgun into the Bronco, retrieved a rifle and stalked around the side of the duplex, trying to get into the back yard and find keys to a vehicle.

In the confusion, Heinemann could not find two of her four boys. She tried to get out the door into the front yard to find her children.

"I couldn't find my kids, and we hear guns going off," Heinemann said. "It drove me crazy."

Gruver said he had to restrain her.

"He would have shot her. The look in his face -- he was not a good person," Gruver said.

Heinemann said she later learned that a family friend had begun lifting her children over the backyard fence so they could flee.

The gunman eventually got back into the Bronco and fled the scene. Gruver said he watched the suspect leave Norwood and turn east on Abram Street.

"I told the police he had a whole bunch of guns and ammo," Gruver said.

In the truck he tried to carjack, the suspect left a briefcase full of purses, a mask and leather gloves, Gruver said. The man could have easily taken the truck because the ignition switch had been damaged during a break-in and did not require a key, Gruver said.

Police said the suspect attempted to carjack at least one other vehicle in Arlington in the 2200 block of Park Springs Court.

Wednesday afternoon, an assault rifle lay next to the red Bronco while police investigated the fatal shooting. The apartment complex was sealed, shutting residents either in or out for several hours.

A search of public records revealed that Burns had an extensive criminal history in Tarrant County that included numerous misdemeanors and a 1991 felony conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for an incident in Arlington.

His most recent arrest was in 2002 when Fort Worth police picked him up for prostitution, according to Tarrant County criminal court records. The details of the cases were not available late Wednesday.

Relatives of Burns could not be reached to comment.

The three officers involved in the shooting were put on routine paid administrative leave, Johnson said.

Gruver said he is comfortable knowing the gunman won't be returning to his neighborhood.

"Nobody got hurt except for the bad guy. I don't feel bad for him at all," Gruver said. "Anybody that would threaten children doesn't deserve sympathy."