Sylvilagus Aquaticus
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http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/022605dntexvigilante.4e7bd.html
From WFAA.com
Man praised for taking on Tyler killer
He's mourned as hero, but DPS discourages citizen intervention
11:26 PM CST on Friday, February 25, 2005
By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News
Mark Wilson's split-second decision to take on the Tyler courthouse shooter – a decision that authorities credit with saving lives – cost him his life.
Mr. Wilson's friends said Friday that was typical of the former Dallas resident, 52, who lived by the "cowboy code," always ready to help someone in danger.
"That's his character," said John Seiple, a close friend and neighbor. "He saw people that were being shot, and even if he didn't have a gun, Mark was the type of person that would have tried to do something about it anyway."
Tyler law-enforcement officials and others called Mr. Wilson's actions on Thursday heroic and selfless. However, other officials said it is not an example they'd like to see emulated by the 237,000 Texans licensed to conceal handguns.
"Leave the crime fighting to us," said Tela Mange, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. "There are just all kinds of situations that they can find themselves in that don't turn out well."
David Hernandez Arroyo David Hernandez Arroyo, 43, opened fire on his ex-wife, Maribel Estrada, and an adult son with an AK-47 Thursday afternoon. They were arriving for a child-support proceeding at the Smith County Courthouse.
Mr. Arroyo had shot the two when Mr. Wilson came down from his loft overlooking the town square and shot at the man, who was wearing a bulletproof vest and military flak jacket. It remained unclear Friday if any of the rounds Mr. Wilson fired from his Colt .45-caliber pistol hit Mr. Arroyo, said Officer Don Martin, a Tyler police spokesman. The two traded shots before Mr. Wilson fell.
But police believe Mr. Wilson distracted the gunman just as he was readying to shoot his son, David Arroyo Jr., 21. The killer ended up wounding three law-enforcement officers before he was gunned down after a car chase.
"It's in our opinion and from all the witness accounts, that Mr. Wilson saved the life of the suspect's son," Officer Martin said. "Because [the gunman] had several rounds, he possibly saved other lives."
State law allows people to use deadly force to protect themselves and others from deadly force, said Barry Sorrels, a longtime Dallas defense attorney.
"I think this is a perfect example of why we have such a good handgun law in this state, and this is a perfect example of how that can be a benefit to others," said Mr. Sorrels, who lectures on concealed handgun laws for the state bar.
But gun control advocates said a lesson of the shooting is that gun laws should be tighter.
Marsha McCartney, Dallas chapter president for the Million Mom March, questioned Mr. Arroyo's possession of the assault weapon. Mr. Arroyo was a convicted felon who shouldn't have had a gun. Police said Friday they didn't know when or where Mr. Arroyo got the gun.
"Concealed handgun carriers sometimes commit crimes and sometimes are heroes," Ms. McCartney said. "Unfortunately, the hero part doesn't happen very often, and what if he had hit a bystander while he was firing?"
James McLaughlin, executive director of the Texas Police Chiefs Association, said handgun carriers who come upon a crime must make life-and-death observations in a flash. Police officers are trained to deal with such situations.
AP
Bullet holes riddle a first-floor window of the Smith County Courthouse after a shootout, which left three people dead and four people wounded Thursday. Civilians also must quickly consider how police will distinguish them from bad guys and whether the situation is what it seems to be.
"I was in law enforcement for 30 years, and I certainly never knew what something was when I pulled up on it," Mr. McLaughlin said.
Friends said Mr. Wilson's reaction was typical of a man who always did what he believed was right. He was described as a hard-edged Vietnam War veteran who worked odd jobs, loved racquetball and was protective about his white 1986 Porsche.
He opened a shooting range in Tyler in 1997, but lost it for financial reasons about a year later.
"He wanted a place where citizens and law enforcement could learn and practice self-defense in a safe environment," said Dr. Scott Lieberman, who invested in the shooting range. "To be honest, this was a dream of his for six years, to have that range built."
Mr. Wilson graduated from MacArthur High School in Irving and owned a car repair shop in Dallas in the 1980s, Mr. Seiple said.
Mr. Seiple, a high school teacher in Tyler, was in class when he heard about the shooting and told students about his friend.
"I told them that he was like a hero," he said. "He died because he saw some people who were being hurt and he reacted to the situation like hero would, like someone that would risk themselves to help somebody else."
E-mail [email protected]
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/022605dntexvigilante.4e7bd.html
From WFAA.com
Man praised for taking on Tyler killer
He's mourned as hero, but DPS discourages citizen intervention
11:26 PM CST on Friday, February 25, 2005
By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News
Mark Wilson's split-second decision to take on the Tyler courthouse shooter – a decision that authorities credit with saving lives – cost him his life.
Mr. Wilson's friends said Friday that was typical of the former Dallas resident, 52, who lived by the "cowboy code," always ready to help someone in danger.
"That's his character," said John Seiple, a close friend and neighbor. "He saw people that were being shot, and even if he didn't have a gun, Mark was the type of person that would have tried to do something about it anyway."
Tyler law-enforcement officials and others called Mr. Wilson's actions on Thursday heroic and selfless. However, other officials said it is not an example they'd like to see emulated by the 237,000 Texans licensed to conceal handguns.
"Leave the crime fighting to us," said Tela Mange, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. "There are just all kinds of situations that they can find themselves in that don't turn out well."
David Hernandez Arroyo David Hernandez Arroyo, 43, opened fire on his ex-wife, Maribel Estrada, and an adult son with an AK-47 Thursday afternoon. They were arriving for a child-support proceeding at the Smith County Courthouse.
Mr. Arroyo had shot the two when Mr. Wilson came down from his loft overlooking the town square and shot at the man, who was wearing a bulletproof vest and military flak jacket. It remained unclear Friday if any of the rounds Mr. Wilson fired from his Colt .45-caliber pistol hit Mr. Arroyo, said Officer Don Martin, a Tyler police spokesman. The two traded shots before Mr. Wilson fell.
But police believe Mr. Wilson distracted the gunman just as he was readying to shoot his son, David Arroyo Jr., 21. The killer ended up wounding three law-enforcement officers before he was gunned down after a car chase.
"It's in our opinion and from all the witness accounts, that Mr. Wilson saved the life of the suspect's son," Officer Martin said. "Because [the gunman] had several rounds, he possibly saved other lives."
State law allows people to use deadly force to protect themselves and others from deadly force, said Barry Sorrels, a longtime Dallas defense attorney.
"I think this is a perfect example of why we have such a good handgun law in this state, and this is a perfect example of how that can be a benefit to others," said Mr. Sorrels, who lectures on concealed handgun laws for the state bar.
But gun control advocates said a lesson of the shooting is that gun laws should be tighter.
Marsha McCartney, Dallas chapter president for the Million Mom March, questioned Mr. Arroyo's possession of the assault weapon. Mr. Arroyo was a convicted felon who shouldn't have had a gun. Police said Friday they didn't know when or where Mr. Arroyo got the gun.
"Concealed handgun carriers sometimes commit crimes and sometimes are heroes," Ms. McCartney said. "Unfortunately, the hero part doesn't happen very often, and what if he had hit a bystander while he was firing?"
James McLaughlin, executive director of the Texas Police Chiefs Association, said handgun carriers who come upon a crime must make life-and-death observations in a flash. Police officers are trained to deal with such situations.
AP
Bullet holes riddle a first-floor window of the Smith County Courthouse after a shootout, which left three people dead and four people wounded Thursday. Civilians also must quickly consider how police will distinguish them from bad guys and whether the situation is what it seems to be.
"I was in law enforcement for 30 years, and I certainly never knew what something was when I pulled up on it," Mr. McLaughlin said.
Friends said Mr. Wilson's reaction was typical of a man who always did what he believed was right. He was described as a hard-edged Vietnam War veteran who worked odd jobs, loved racquetball and was protective about his white 1986 Porsche.
He opened a shooting range in Tyler in 1997, but lost it for financial reasons about a year later.
"He wanted a place where citizens and law enforcement could learn and practice self-defense in a safe environment," said Dr. Scott Lieberman, who invested in the shooting range. "To be honest, this was a dream of his for six years, to have that range built."
Mr. Wilson graduated from MacArthur High School in Irving and owned a car repair shop in Dallas in the 1980s, Mr. Seiple said.
Mr. Seiple, a high school teacher in Tyler, was in class when he heard about the shooting and told students about his friend.
"I told them that he was like a hero," he said. "He died because he saw some people who were being hurt and he reacted to the situation like hero would, like someone that would risk themselves to help somebody else."
E-mail [email protected]
That way no innocent offender is hurt needlessly, or is kept intact for the police chase and heroics if they can figure out who did it. Police agencies have an agenda of being the only protection around. Job security. Let the bad guys go after being caught to prey and be caught again and again. Lawyers happy, cops happy, game in play. Innocent civilians devastated and dead. 
