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Shaelan Jazmanique Hill

Age : 31

Gender : Female

Race : Black

Date : 08/28/2022

Location : Interstate 35W near Spur 280

City : Fort Worth

County : Tarrant

State : Texas

Agency : roy Police Department; Texas Department of Public Safety; Hill County Sheriff’s Office; Fort Worth Police Department

Officer(s) :Not disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed during homicide/suicide event under police duress

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/28/2022, 31-year-old Shaelan Jazmanique Hill was fatally shot by her boyfriend, 38-year-old J’Quinnton Donye Hopson, after police pursued the vehicle she was driving for more than 100 miles from Central Texas into Fort Worth. Later records established that Hill was being held hostage at gunpoint during the pursuit and was not voluntarily fleeing police.
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The incident began at approximately 6:20 p.m. after Troy Police Department received information about a vehicle being driven recklessly northbound on Interstate 35 between Belton and Temple. Troy officers observed the vehicle traveling more than 100 mph and passing other motorists on the left shoulder. Police attempted to stop it and then pursued when it continued north.
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As the pursuit continued, authorities learned that an armed male passenger was threatening Hill, who was driving. The pursuit continued north on Interstate 35 and Interstate 35W for more than 100 miles, with Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and Hill County sheriff’s deputies also participating. Fort Worth police were contacted for assistance as the pursuit approached the city.
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The vehicle eventually crashed on Interstate 35W near Spur 280 in Fort Worth. Police helicopter personnel reported seeing Hopson holding a handgun against Hill. Officers ordered the people inside the damaged vehicle to come out but reported that deployed airbags and crash debris obstructed their view.
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Police reported seeing a struggle inside the vehicle and then hearing a gunshot. Hopson had shot Hill. Fort Worth officers formed a rescue team and approached the vehicle because they knew Hill had been wounded and remained inside with an armed man.
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Body-camera footage subsequently showed Hill lying across Hopson while Hopson held a handgun against her abdomen. Police described Hopson as using Hill as a human shield. Officers repeatedly ordered him to take his hand off the gun and drop it. Two Fort Worth officers eventually opened fire and killed Hopson.
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The released body-camera footage later revealed that Hopson’s handgun had no magazine inserted and its slide was locked or jammed to the rear when police shot him. Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said the officers could not necessarily see the condition of the weapon from their positions during the confrontation.
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Police immediately removed Hill from the vehicle. Heavy traffic prevented an ambulance from reaching the scene quickly, so officers transported her to John Peter Smith Hospital in a patrol vehicle. Hill died at 8:02 p.m. from the gunshot wound inflicted by Hopson.
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Later reporting established an important correction to the early narrative surrounding the pursuit: Hill was not simply the driver of a vehicle voluntarily fleeing police. She was being held hostage by her armed boyfriend while driving. The Texas Council on Family Violence subsequently documented Hill’s death as an intimate-partner homicide and identified Hopson as her boyfriend.
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Hill was born on 08/04/1991. Her mother described her as sweet, funny and generous, deeply devoted to her family and protective of the people she loved. Hill also left behind pets for whom her family arranged continuing care after her death
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
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Two Fort Worth Police Department officers shot and killed Hopson while attempting to reach Hill. Their identities were not publicly disclosed in the records located. No police officer fired the shot that killed Hill.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.kwtx.com/2022/08/29/high-speed-chase-i-35-central-texas-ends-with-hostage-gunman-dead-fort-worth-report/
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https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article265076454.html
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https://www.officer.com/on-the-street/body-cameras/video/21279518/bodycam-gunman-uses-hostage-as-human-shield-against-texas-police
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https://texasmetronews.com/39700/armed-man-killed-by-fort-worth-police-didnt-have-magazine-loaded-when-officers-approached%EF%BF%BC/
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https://tcfv.org/wp-content/uploads/TCFV_Honoring-TX-Victims_Narratives_2022.pdf
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https://www.gofundme.com/f/shaelan-j-hill