Dallas City Wire

A teacher with the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) was fatally shot by a DeSoto police officer late last month, per reports from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)-based media outlets.

According to a report from DFW FOX affiliate KDFW that was run by Houston sister station KRIV, the North Texas public school district identified the teacher as 47-year-old Michael Nunez.

KDFW reported that Nunez allegedly attacked authorities while carrying a homemade knife at the time of his death.

Police said the decedent was suspected of committing burglary of a habitation, the station reported.

DISD said Nunez taught at Moises E. Molina High School in southwest Dallas.

Per DFW CBS affiliate KTVT, Nunez had been released from jail hours before the deadly confrontation.

DeSoto Chief of Police Joseph Costa said it was unclear whether the special education teacher was on drugs or in the throes of a mental health crisis, KTVT reported.

Authorities alleged that Nunez broke into a woman’s residence after he left the jail and was told by the homeowner to get out.

According to KTVT, Costa said an officer’s body camera malfunctioned but a unit’s vehicle dash camera audio recorded police’s warnings to the suspect.

The chief asserted that while officers were equipped with tasers, lethal force was necessary. KTVT reported that DeSoto Mayor Rachel Proctor requested prayers and gave Nunez’s family the city’s sympathies.

"I believe no one wants to lose a loved one under such tragic circumstances," Proctor said in the report.

DFW NBC affiliate KXAS reported that Nunez had worked for DISD for nearly 20 years.

The district reassigned his students to other special education inclusion teachers at Molina, according to KXAS.

Counselors and mental health clinicians were deployed to the campus to speak to any students and staff who were impacted by the incident.

KDFW reported that the officer who allegedly shot Nunez is currently on paid administrative leave.