The Dallas police officer who shot a man in his own apartment has been fired

Kaufman County Sheriff's Office Mugshot
(Image credit: Kaufman County Sheriff's Office via AP)

A Dallas police officer who killed a black man after wrongly entering his apartment was fired Monday, ABC News reports.

Officer Amber Guyger, 30, shot and killed her neighbor Botham Jean, 26, in his Dallas apartment earlier this month and is now being charged with manslaughter. Guyger said she shot Jean when she entered the apartment and, believing it was her own, thought Jean was a burglar, NPR reports. Jean lived directly above Guyger.

Dallas Police Chief Reneé Hall said she made the decision to fire Guyger after an internal affairs investigation wrapped Sept. 9, per ABC News. Hall released a statement last week saying she was waiting to take employment action against Guyger because she didn't want to "interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation."

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Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Jean family, called the firing an "initial victory." Merritt said his office is conducting their own investigation and is hoping to file a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Guyger and the city of Dallas, ABC News reports.

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Marianne Dodson

Marianne is The Week’s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.