Police investigate whether Arlington sports bar shooting was hate crime

Police are investigating whether a shooting at an Arlington sports bar this week was a hate crime.

Witnesses reported that the gunman, James Jones, made derogatory comments toward a specific ethnicity Wednesday evening when he walked into Zona Caliente Sports Bar and Grill on South Cooper Street, said Lt. Chris Cook, police spokesman.

Jones, 48, who was black, is accused of fatally shooting the bar’s manager, Cesar Perez, 37, who was Hispanic. An armed customer with a concealed weapon then fatally shot Jones inside the bar, potentially saving other lives, police said.

A witness told WFAA that Jones had walked into the bar and asked, “Oh, who worked for the cartel?”

“F Mexicans,” James said, according to the witness. “You deserve to die.”

Cook could not confirm Friday what James said before the shooting.

If the attack was motivated by a racial bias, it would reported to the FBI, which collects hate crime data.

“We do need to accurately report that,” Cook said.

Police are also investigating whether Jones suffered from mental illness. He served in the Army from 1989 to 1992, Cook said.

Jones did not know Perez, according to investigators.

Lucia Garcia, another manager bar who witnessed the shooting, said Jones “went to the bar and started a commotion.”

“Before Cesar could ask if everything was OK, he was shot,” Garcia said.

Jones had been carrying two loaded guns and two knives inside the bar, police discovered.

“He had the capacity to harm many more people in the business if he wanted to,” Cook said.

This story was originally published May 5, 2017 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Police investigate whether Arlington sports bar shooting was hate crime."