Cops: Standoff Suspect Could Be Roadway Shooter

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There are some really insane people out there.

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Cops: Standoff Suspect Could Be Roadway Shooter


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numSlides of totalImages Garland police believe they have the suspect involved in Monday night's quadruple shooting cornered at the intersections of Highway 66 and Davidson. Two of the four shootings proved to be deadly as the suspect moved from Garland city streets to LBJ Freeway in Dallas.

Garland police surrounded a vehicle shortly after 9 p.m. and have closed several locations. Other officers are positioned around the area with spike strips in the event the suspect tries to drive away from the scene.

SWAT officers from Dallas have been called to help Garland police in arresting the person.

Police say the suspect is a balding white male in his 40s. He is said to be driving a tan, Ford F-150 with loud mufflers.

The first shooting occurred around 5:40 p.m. in Garland on Jupiter Road and Marquis. Police there say 20-year-old Jorge Lopez of Rowlett was shot and killed.

According to police, the shooter pulled up next to the victim, fired several shots and drove away.

Minutes later, someone shot at a truck cab near LBJ at Jupiter. The driver was not injured.

The third shooting occurred a few miles west on LBJ at Plano Road. The driver of that 18 wheeler died as a result. The west bound lanes of LBJ were shut down for hours as police investigated the deadly scene.

Another shooting involving an 18 wheeler was then reported on LBJ near Forest Lane. The driver was not hit, but the windows on the 18 wheeler were shattered by the bullets. The driver was taken to Medical City Hospital in Dallas to be treated with non-life threatening injuries.

Investigators say they believe all four shootings are related since they occurred only a few miles apart and happened within minutes of each other.

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Honestly, I hope that they kill the bastard. Better to kill him than to imprison him, feed him, clothe him, and house him for the rest of his life at taxpayer expense.
 
Via Google and Chro.com

Jst in with in the last hour or so...

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Police: Suspect in highway killings shot himself
By JEFF CARLTON Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press
Dec. 23, 2008, 7:36PM
Share Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! BuzzDALLAS — The suspect in a series of rush-hour shootings in Dallas is a former Utah state trooper now in critical condition after shooting himself following a standoff with officers, Dallas police said Tuesday.

Dallas police said they think 37-year-old ex-trooper Brian Smith was responsible for at least one death that resulted from the shootings. They declined to comment on another death in neighboring Garland because it was outside their jurisdiction.

Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said his department has not been able to make a definitive connection between Smith and the killing there, but acknowledged that he fit the description of the highway shooter: a balding, 40ish white man.

"We certainly hope it is him," Harn said. "But we are going to have to see more concrete evidence."

Smith was in critical condition Tuesday night at a Dallas hospital from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said he shot himself in the head early Tuesday morning after a brief standoff and more than six hours after the shooting spree ended.

Dallas police Lt. Craig Miller said they connected Smith to the killing in Dallas because the bullets from the standoff were a match. The weapon was a high-caliber semiautomatic handgun, Miller said.

"We feel safe in saying (Smith) ... was the shooter," Miller said.

Before the standoff, two people were fatally shot and a third was injured in four rush-hour shootings Monday along or near a Dallas-area highway. Police said the victims appeared to have been selected at random.

The crime spree appears to have begun in Garland, where a man police identified as Smith jumped over a pharmacy counter at a grocery store and stole Oxycontin pills.

Minutes later, the first shooting happened in Garland when a driver pulled up alongside a small Nissan stopped at a red light and began shooting, Harn said. The Nissan's driver, 20-year-old Jorge "George" Lopez of Rowlett, was killed.

Silvia Lopez, Jorge's mother, said her son was driving to meet friends when he was killed.

Witnesses told police the driver headed toward Interstate 635 in Dallas, where shots were fired at an 18-wheeler a short time later. The driver of the 18-wheeler, identified by police as Kenneth Black Harly, was not hurt.

Minutes later on the same highway, a gunman shot and killed 42-year-old William Scott Miller, the driver of a United Van Lines rig, Lt. Miller said. Police said the driver, a military veteran who was about to fly home to his wife and two young daughters in Frankfort, Ky., for the holidays, was able to bring his truck safely to a stop before he died.

"The act he did in and of itself I consider to be heroic," Lt. Miller said. "Despite being mortally wounded, he was able to control his rig to the point where other drivers weren't injured."

After the shooting of Miller, another semitrailer was fired upon a half-mile away on the same interstate. The driver, 46-year-old Gary Roberts, was injured by debris and glass but not struck by any bullets. His right eye was hit by shattered glass and he needed several stitches in his fingers, said Bedford Wilhite, who works with Roberts at Dugan Truck Line.

Roberts is home recuperating after being treated at a hospital, Wilhite said. Roberts, who has worked for Dugan for about a year, told Wilhite he is "much blessed and thankful to be alive."

"It's just absolutely stunning to me that something like this would happen," Wilhite said. "This is our way of surviving in this country — truckers hauling goods up and down the highways. Why would someone want to take potshots like this at our drivers?"

A spokesman with the Utah Department of Public Safety said Smith had been a trooper since 1996 but resigned in May because of "personal issues." Smith, who was a sergeant in the Utah Highway Patrol, had his peace officer certification revoked following a January incident.

According to state records, Smith drank two pints of hard liquor and drove his patrol car home. When he arrived there, he summoned his clergyman, who sat with him in the patrol car. Smith held a gun to his own head and threatened to kill himself. The clergyman eventually grabbed the gun when Smith placed it on the dashboard. Smith later confirmed the details of the incident to an internal investigator.

"Up to that point, he was an amazing person. Very motivated, very career-oriented," said Sgt. Jeff Nigbur of the Utah Highway Patrol, who described Smith as a good friend. "He served this state very well."

Friends and co-workers of the shooting victims were saddened by what they said were senseless shootings. United Van Lines posted a statement to its Web site Tuesday that said Miller, the driver from Kentucky, had a flawless safety record and was "an asset to our company both personally and professionally."

"We are deeply saddened by this senseless act ..." the statement said. "We ask that others in the impacted communities join us in keeping Scott's family in our thoughts and prayers in this time of tragedy."

The girlfriend of Lopez, the first person killed in the shooting spree, said her boyfriend was "one of those people you would turn to with your problems because he was always there to support you." The girlfriend, Shelby Hamilton, said Lopez enjoyed working on cars.

"George, no matter what was going on, he was happy," Hamilton said.
 
Breaking news: Dallas shooting suspect is a former Utah State Trooper

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DALLAS – A man suspected in a series of rush-hour shootings near Dallas is a former Utah state trooper wanted on burglary and robbery warrants who apparently shot himself after a standoff with police, authorities said Tuesday.

Brian Smith, 37, killed at least one of the victims of Monday's shootings, police Lt. Craig Miller said. Investigators linked Smith to a killing in Dallas by matching the bullets found at the standoff, he said.

"We feel safe in saying (Smith) ... was the shooter," Miller said.

Dallas police declined to comment on a second death in neighboring Garland, where the standoff took place, because it was out of their jurisdiction.

Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said his department has not been able to make a definitive connection between Smith and the killing there, but he acknowledged that Smith fit the description of the highway shooter: a balding, 40ish white man.

"We certainly hope it is him," Harn said. "But we are going to have to see more concrete evidence."

Two people were shot and killed and another was injured by broken glass in four shootings along or near a Dallas-area highway Monday evening. Police believe the victims were selected at random.

Smith was in critical condition Tuesday night at a Dallas hospital from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said he shot himself in the head early Tuesday morning after a brief standoff more than six hours after the shooting spree ended.

Smith had been a Utah state trooper since 1996 but retired in May because of "personal issues," said Sgt. Jeff Nigbur, a spokesman for the Utah Department of Public Safety.

The crime spree appears to have begun in Garland, where a man police identified as Smith jumped over a pharmacy counter at a grocery store and stole OxyContin pills.

Minutes later, the first shooting happened in Garland when a driver pulled up alongside a small Nissan stopped at a red light and began shooting, Harn said. The Nissan's driver, 20-year-old Jorge "George" Lopez of Rowlett, was killed.

Minutes later on the same highway, a gunman shot and killed 42-year-old William Scott Miller, the driver of a United Van Lines rig, Miller said. Police said the driver, who was about to fly home to his wife and two young daughters in Frankfort, Ky., for the holidays, was able to bring his truck safely to a stop before he died.

"The act he did in and of itself I consider to be heroic," Miller said. "Despite being mortally wounded, he was able to control his rig to the point where other drivers weren't injured."

After the shooting of Miller, another semitrailer was fired upon a half-mile away on the same interstate. The driver, 46-year-old Gary Roberts, was injured by debris and glass but not struck by any bullets. His right eye was hit by shattered glass and he needed several stitches in his fingers, said Bedford Wilhite, who works with Roberts at Dugan Truck Line.

Roberts is home recuperating after being treated at a hospital, Wilhite said. Roberts, who has worked for Dugan for about a year, told Wilhite he is "much blessed and thankful to be alive."
 
This is nothing but sad all the way around. I'm sitting here shaking my head. It's the only thing I can do. I don't know where the suburb, Garland, is, but I have friends who drive into Dallas every day. I'm so glad they are okay.
 
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