08/11/2022
Last night a true nightmare struck our community, when Lt Lillis was shot in the eye by a murder suspect from an earlier homicide in the day. The suspect shot and killed his father in law, and shot his mother in law multiple times before going on a crime rampage that shook communities in Texas and Arkansas for several hours. The suspect car jacked multiple citizens at gun point before coming into contact with Lt. Lillis. Before Lillis could even make contact with the suspect, the suspect fired multiple rounds from the drivers side towards Lt. Lillis who was making a passenger side approach. We believe the suspect came back to the community to kill his wife, who he was unable to kill earlier in the day. If not for Lt. Lillis being observant and willing to make contact, she may not be alive today.
Lt. Lillis was struck in his left eye, and was able to call out for help on the radio, to which Texas DPS responded. The suspect continued to car jack, and the final stolen vehicle was located near Leary, Texas, just outside of Texarkana. This prompted an outpouring of support that I have never seen in all of my years of Policing. Nearly 100 officers from a dozen agencies, the majority of which were off duty at the time, responded to hold perimeter, cover calls for Bowie County and Texarkana area agencies, and to look for the suspect. The suspect ultimately took his own life which ended the manhunt approximately 6 hours after the attempted murder of Lt Lillis.
Lt. Lillis was taken to St. Michael’s Hospital and then flown by helicopter to Little Rock Arkansas where it was determined that the left eye could not be saved. We are praying that his right eye has a full restoration and that, hopefully, he will one day return to work.
Scott Lillis is a cops cop. He is a Marine Corps veteran who served his country with honor. He is a husband, a father, and a damn good friend. This is a cop anyone would be honored to fight beside, something that I know personally, as I was blessed enough to serve with him.
He is the definition of relentless. How he overcame a .45 cal round to the head, and is up talking and making pirate jokes mere hours after the shooting is by the grace of God alone.
