Fort Worth city worker indicted on murder charge

A Fort Worth Water Department employee was indicted on a murder charge Tuesday afternoon in the March 11 killing of Jason Knight, 36, near the Gospel Tabernacle Church on the Near East Side, according to the Tarrant County district attorney's office.

Daniel Earl Hammack, 60, a surveyor in the water department, is accused of swinging a stick at Knight before shooting him.

Hammack's attorney, Phillip Hall, said at the time that Hammack shot him in self-defense.

The shooting occurred in the 1500 block of E. Stella Drive.

Hammack, who lives about a block away from where the shooting happened, has been free from jail after posting a $100,000 bail.

The shooting occurred as Hammack, his wife and mother were leaving the church about 1:30 p.m. on March 11, according to police. Hammack and Knight apparently had words that escalated into violence. Knight died from gunshot wounds to the torso, according to a report from the Tarrant County medical examiner's office.

Since the shooting, Hammack has been on paid administrative leave from the Fort Worth Water Department, where he had been employed since 2014.

This story was originally published June 5, 2018 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Fort Worth city worker indicted on murder charge."