Man Who Fired at Police Had Troubled Past

Photograph courtesy of the Hood County Sheriff's Office. — Photograph courtesy of the Hood County Sheriff’s Office.

FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF News) – The man who shot two police officers in Fort Worth had a violent history.

Martin Craig Fleece, 55, is accused of shooting and killing his father, Carl, 81, before firing on police on Friday. Martin Fleece was bipolar and had served prison sentences for attempted manslaughter, auto theft and stealing credit cards, according to police records.

Neighbors said he often created uproars in the family home on Wharton Drive and was the reason police had been called there at least six times in the last three years.

Officers Xavier Serrano and Ray Azucena were shot while looking for Martin Fleece in a shed in the back yard. Serrano was hit multiple times and remains in stable condition at John Peter Smith Hospital. Azucena was hit in the chest, but the bullet was deflected by his vest. He was released from the hospital on Saturday.

Martin Fleece was found dead in the shed. Police haven’t said whether his wound was self-inflicted.