8 slain at football-watching party
GUN VIOLENCE /
PLANO, Texas — Eight people were fatally shot when a man opened fire during a gathering to watch football Sunday night at a suburban Dallas home, and the shooting suspect was killed by police, law enforcement officers said.
Plano police Chief Gregory W. Rushin said at a Monday afternoon news conference that one of two people hospitalized after the shooting had died.
An officer responding to a report of shots fired at about 8 p.m. confronted the shooting suspect and opened fire, killing the man. Police then found the nine gunshot victims — seven were dead and two were taken to the hospital.
“The first responding officer actually heard gunshots taking place inside the residence,” police spokesman David Tilley said.
Rushin said the officer approached the house from the back and saw bodies in the backyard before confronting the suspect inside.
Police have not yet confirmed the identities of those killed or the suspect. Rushin did say that the suspect “was known by people in the residence,” adding the suspect had a “relationship with that house.”
Debbie Lane told WFAA television station that her daughter, Meredith Lane, was among those killed in the shooting. She said her daughter owned the home and had recently divorced her husband of six years. She said her daughter, a native of Georgia, was hosting a party to watch football games, starting with the Atlanta Falcons vs. the Chicago Bears and continuing with the Dallas Cowboys vs. the New York Giants.
“She was a cook, and a quite fine one, and she loved hosting friends and families,” Debbie Lane said.
All of those killed and injured were believed to be adults.
Neighbor Stacey Glover told The Dallas Morning News that the party had started early in the afternoon and that she had seen people laughing and grilling outside. She says she then heard the shots around 8 p.m. She opened her door and smelled gunpowder. She heard police who arrived yell “hands up” before more shots rang out.
Rushin said he did not know how many people had attended the gathering. Rushin said multiple firearms of different types were found at the scene.
Tilley said that a shooting of this magnitude was unusual for Plano, especially in such a quiet neighborhood. He could not say whether police had been called to the home before Sunday.
Tilley said the Texas Rangers are investigating the officer-involved shooting and are helping Plano police with the homicide investigation as well.