Officer James C. Gaul, 36, of the Fort Worth Police Department was mortally wounded during a shootout on January 5, 1979 and died on January 10, 1979 from his injuries. He and another officer had responded to a report of a man with a gun; a deranged man opened fire as they approached the front door and wounded Officer Gaul. The suspect at the scene was later shot and killed by other officers.

Gaul had served 13 years with the department and was survived by his wife and three children from a previous marriage. The death was treated as a line-of-duty death; no further arrests, suspects, litigations, or investigations were reported because the immediate suspect was neutralized at the scene.