Texas Department of Public Safety releases name of man killed in officer-involved Groves shooting

Published 4:40 pm Friday, July 28, 2023

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GROVES —  On Friday, the Texas Department of Public Safety identified the deceased in a Thursday officer-involved shooting that took place in Groves.

Authorities said the man is 60-year-old David Guilbeau of Groves.

This investigation remains ongoing, according to state officials, adding once the investigation is complete, it will be submitted to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.

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The shooting occurred at approximately 2 p.m. Thursday in the 2800 block of Main Avenue. The man was taken by Acadian Ambulance to a local hospital, where he died.

At the request of the Groves Police Department, the Texas Rangers — a division of state DPS — are investigating the shooting that occurred at a private residence.

The preliminary investigation indicates at approximately 2 p.m., law enforcement officers responded to an emergency call relating to an individual behaving erratically and in possession of a handgun.

“When law enforcement arrived on scene, the suspect brandished the weapon, and the officers shot the suspect,” a release from the Texas Department of Public Safety stated. “Following the shooting, the suspect was transported to Southeast Medical Center in Port Arthur where he was pronounced deceased.”

Justice of the Peace Joseph Guillory II said the time of death was 2:19 p.m.

Guillory said the man had two gunshot wounds, adding he has ordered an autopsy.

Barricades were placed in a section of Main Avenue and crime scene tape blocked off an area where law enforcement vehicles were parked. Small evidence placards could be seen between the vehicles.

A steady stream of traffic attempted to flow down Main Avenue but was forced to go around the area in the hour or so after the shooting.

Groves Chief Deputy Kirk Rice said the department is not releasing any information at this time but information would later be released from DPS.

There have been other officer-involved shootings in the area in the past. On July 5, 2022, a man was shot and killed by two Port Neches Police officers after a call of a suspicious vehicle and an altercation.

Three months later PNPD officers shot and killed a man who had killed a woman and injured a man.

In November 2020, a Nederland police officer shot and killed a man who had been involved in a domestic disturbance in Port Neches that was later spotted in Nederland.

And in December 2018, a Port Arthur police officer shot and killed a man wielding a machete that reportedly did not comply with orders to drop the weapon.