State Fair shooting suspect told Dallas cops he fired in self-defense, affidavit says
The 22-year-old suspect arrested in the Oct. 14 State Fair of Texas shooting that injured three told Dallas police he used his gun in self-defense, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
State Fair authorities issued an emergency order at 8:05 p.m. Saturday, evacuating people after shots were fired around 7:45 p.m. in the food court inside the Tower Building, according to police.
The suspect, Cameron Turner, ran from the scene, but was later located by police. A gun was also recovered. He was arrested on three charges of aggravated assault.
All three victims were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.
In surveillance video obtained by Dallas police, Turner was purchasing a water bottle by himself at a concession stand inside the food court, according to the affidavit.
Several males were approaching Turner from a distance, the affidavit says. When Turner was leaving the concession stand, one of the males in the group was seen approaching Turner. Both Turner and the man exchanged a few words before the suspect “brandished” a handgun and began shooting at the man, an officer wrote in the affidavit.
Nothing was seen in the hands of the man who spoke to Turner and he did not reach for anything before Turner produced a gun, the affidavit says.
Two other men were hit when the shots were fired, according to the arrest warrant.
In an interview with police, Turner said he went into “survival mode” and felt threatened by the man who approached him, thus shooting him.
When taken into custody, he initially told police he was attempting to protect his family when he was approached by a group of “big males” and went into “defensive mode” and shot. He told police he shot about three to four times, the affidavit states.
The affidavit says Turner’s family was not next to him while he was at the concession stand.
The fair opened at 2 p.m. Sunday, four hours later than its usual opening time. Fair officials stated in a social media post Sunday that the team was “deeply saddened by the incident last night on the fair grounds.”
The shooting comes after a hoax at the fair last year caused panic among attendees. In the hoax, someone shouted that there was a shooter when there was no threat.
Earlier this year, fair officials said it instituted new security measures including high-tech weapon scanners and increased security personnel.
Fair administration started to require anyone under the age of 18 to have a chaperon 21 or older after 5 p.m.
The fair also took to social media to tell attendees to be aware of their surroundings and to report anything that didn’t seem right to police or security.
