Suspect arrested, victims identified in North Texas shooting that killed 2, hurt 12
A suspected gunman was arrested Monday and accused of opening fire at an off-campus college party in Texas, leaving two people dead and 12 others injured.
At a news conference Monday afternoon, Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks identified the suspect as Brandon Ray Gonzales, 23, of Greenville. He said Gonzales was arrested Monday morning at the auto dealership where he worked as a mechanic.
Gonzales is jailed on a $1 million bond on a charge of capital murder of multiple persons.
The sheriff said investigators believe Gonzales acted alone and was targeting just one person at the party of about 750 people outside Greenville on Saturday night. Authorities said the other victims may have been shot at random, but the motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
“We just kept pushing and pushing until people finally started coming forward,” Meeks said. “Once one person came forward with a little bit of information, that led to another little bit of information, and investigators were able to keep on pushing until we got the name of the suspect.”
In an interview from the Hunt County Jail, Gonzales told Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV that he was at the party but didn’t commit the crime. He told the TV station he was in a car outside the venue when the shooting began.
The shooting happened about midnight Saturday at a facility called The Party Venue at what Meeks described as a Halloween and homecoming party for Texas A&M University-Commerce, though officials said it was not a school-sanctioned event. Greenville is about 15 miles southwest of the satellite campus of the Texas A&M University System.
Authorities believe the shooter entered the venue through the back door and began firing with a handgun. Meeks described “complete chaos” after the shots rang out, with hundreds of people fleeing, including the gunman. The weapon has not been recovered. The sheriff said there were no surveillance cameras at the venue.
Of the 12 people injured, six were shot and six were trampled or hurt by glass, authorities said.
The shooting came as Texas A&M University-Commerce, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas, celebrated homecoming weekend. According to its website, it is the second-largest university in the Texas A&M University System. Four of the injured were students who were treated and released from local hospitals, according to the university.
Victims from Arlington and Dallas
The two people killed were both men, Meeks said.
Family members identified one of the victims to local media as Kevin Berry Jr., 23, of Dallas.
The second man who was killed was identified Monday as Byron Craven Jr., 23, of Arlington.
Craven’s mother told the Greenville Herald-Banner in a Facebook message that her son attended the party with his cousin to celebrate his 23rd birthday.
“I have never dealt with anything like this,” Brandise Craven told the Herald-Banner. “He died on [his] 23rd birthday. He just wanted to have fun. I seen my baby leave with his suitcase. And now I have his suitcase but not him.”
After a vigil for Berry on Sunday night at St. Augustine Park in Dallas, at least one person fired gunshots. Dallas police say no one was injured but several vehicles were reportedly damaged.
Berry’s mother, Nakima Alexander, told WFAA-TV on Sunday that the Dallas man was a father of two with another child on the way.
Alexander said Berry had taken his children to their mother’s house Saturday night and then went to the party.
“My heart is torn apart,” Taviara Berry, Kevin’s sister, said at the Sunday vigil, according to WFAA.
Meeks said five of the injured victims remained in the hospital as of Monday afternoon, with one in critical condition and four in good condition.
This story was originally published October 28, 2019 at 9:59 AM.