Police block off the road outside of the UCentre apartment complex on Fry St. Saturday night after a UNT police officer shot and killed a suspect. Hannah Ridings/North Texas Daily

Dalton LaFerney | News Editor

Tiffany Ditto | Contributing Writer

Nicholas Friedman | Editor-in-Chief

UNT police shoot and kill 21-year-old sophomore

Ryan McMillan had just turned 21 when he was shot and killed on the corner of Fry and Oak streets by UNT police Cpl. Stephen Bean, 27, early in the morning on Sunday, Dec. 13. The pre-hospitality sophomore’s first semester at UNT was over, but he didn’t leave Denton.

McMillan, a Fort Worth native and transfer from Weatherford College, died at a local hospital after being shot after allegedly smashing car windows with an axe. University officials said McMillan “advanced on” the officer, resulting in the man being shot.

The Texas Rangers are leading the investigation, and the officer has been placed on administrative leave, standard, officials said, for police-involved shooting investigations. The investigation could take months, officials said.

Police camera footage was released Tuesday, Dec. 15, which showed McMillan walking, holding but not lifting the axe, toward Bean, who told McMillan about six times to stop. But McMillan kept moving, telling Bean to “Shoot me! Just shoot me!”

A toxicology report was ordered in the autopsy of McMillan. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office said autopsy results could be available as late as February.

UNT President Neal Smatresk emailed an official statement on McMillan’s death, saying, “This is a tragic event that saddens us as a university community. We offer our condolences to the individuals, their families and all involved.”

[hypotext target=”your-target-id”]Photo from the scene. Contains graphic content. [/hypotext] [hypotext id=”your-target-id”][/hypotext]

He went on to say the police officer has been placed on administrative leave while authorities fully investigate the shooting.

The initial call, which was originally made to Denton police, was picked up by UNT police, because the corner for Fry and Oak streets is within its jurisdiction.

When the rain began to pour early Sunday morning, police were still working the crime scene on the corner of Fry and Oak streets. Some bargoers leaving the Fry Street area ran through the rain to find police tape and officers telling them their cars may not be moved for hours, as investigators recover details.

“It could be hours,” one officer said. Police were seen in the area as late as 6 a.m.

Next to her roommate along Oak Street stood Ashley Jones, a UNT student who said she knew McMillan as an acquaintance.

“He seemed like a really cool person, really down to earth,” she said. “He was the last person I would think to do that, at least from the vibes I got from him.”

We just received raw video of the suspect from last night. pic.twitter.com/Dxy8iN2vnr — North Texas Daily (@ntdaily) December 13, 2015

As the wind popped yellow police tape nearby, Jones looked on and recalled the moment McMillan stood in the first floor of the U Centre parking garage with what she remembered as a hammer, and smashed the hood of her car.

The police came, there were shots, “and that was it,” Jones said.

Another witness, who did not offer his name, said he saw McMillan, with blood on his chest, carrying an axe and was shot four times by the UNT police officer.

Police officers working the scene took reports from witnesses and those who claimed damages from the man.

There are eight people listed as victims in Denton Police Department’s incident reporting following the criminal mischief/vandalism call Sunday morning.

“He didn’t leave a window unbroken,” U Centre resident Andrew Cardenas said. “The cars he hit had all their windows smashed.”

Cardenas, a biology student , was returning home from work in the few minutes after police shot McMillan. He arrived to find dozens of police cruisers and police tape.

“There were a lot of cops and I knew it was something different,” Cardenas said. “The [police cars] occupied the entire road and I couldn’t get into the parking garage.”

Larissa Kosier, a senior criminal justice major, found her with the windows smashed in.

“All of the windows aside from the windshield were smashed, he also hit the side panels,” Kosier said. “I got towed yesterday, my car may be totaled.”

Kosier said she doesn’t think any particular cars were targeted.

“You can see, in the parking garage, it was random,” she said. “It’s all really confusing.”

Some feel as though the incident leaves many questions unanswered. Denton resident Buster Woodham questions the officer’s use of force. Woodham also wonders where McMillan’s friends were and if he was celebrating his birthday.

“Did the cops really need to shoot him in the chest?” Woodham said. “Where were his friends?”

Other locals on and near Fry Street Monday said despite the incident they still feel safe in the area known for its bar scene.

“I still feel safe on Fry Street because the police are always here,” English freshman Fatima Alrushdi said.

The real change, some feel, isn’t in the way they feel about Denton, but about how Denton will be perceived from now on.

“For the most part I still feel safe, but this incident is legitimizing Denton as a place where bad s–t happens,” Woodham said.

The North Texas Daily is following this story. Updates will be posted when they are made available.

Featured image: Police block the road outside of the UCentre apartment complex on Fry Street. Hannah Ridings | Senior Staff Photographer