Affidavit: Witness identifies suspect as North Texas party hall gunman
A confidential informant claimed to witness the suspect open fire at an off-campus college Halloween party in Texas, killing two people and injuring a dozen more, according to an arrest affidavit.
In the three-page statement, Texas Ranger Laura Simmons says the person contacted the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office with eyewitness information. Then, through an attorney, the witness identified Brandon Ray Gonzales, 23, of Greenville, Texas, as the gunman through the suspect’s Facebook profile and from photos of the suspect shown by investigators.
The witness reported seeing Gonzales late Saturday in line to enter The Party Venue, just outside Greenville. The witness later saw him with a large group playing dice in a restroom, then saw him leave the restroom, pull a handgun from his waist and begin shooting.
The witness was questioned closely to establish that person’s credibility and reported hearing eight gunshots, Simmons said.
The shooting took place at a Halloween and homecoming party for Texas A&M University-Commerce, although officials said it was not a school-sanctioned event. Investigators identified the two 23-year-old men killed as Kevin Berry Jr. of Dallas and Byron Craven of Arlington.
Gonzales was arrested Monday and jailed on a capital murder charge. Bond is set at $1 million.
In a television interview Monday with Star-Telegram media partner WFAA, Gonzales maintained he is innocent. He told the TV station he had been at the party but that he was in a car outside the venue when the shooting began.
“I really didn’t do it. I don’t even know the guy who got killed. I’m not that type of guy to go in there and do that,” Gonzales told WFAA’s Jason Whitely during a jailhouse interview.
Activists who believe Gonzales is innocent are planning a protest at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sheriff’s Office.
A Hunt County Sheriff’s Office spokesman told WFAA on Tuesday that investigators believe they arrested the right person “100 percent, without a doubt.”
“We’re confident in the investigation that was conducted by our investigators, Texas Rangers, and the Department of Public Safety criminal investigation division,” said Sgt. Jeff Haines of the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office.
This story was originally published October 30, 2019 at 11:57 AM.