Gunman in west Houston deadly mass shooting identified
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A source close to the investigation has identified the suspect in Sunday's west Houston mass shooting as a 25-year-old veteran from California. Dionisio Garza III is from San Bernardino County and served in Afghanistan. He was discharged from active duty in 2014, and doesn't appear to have a criminal history.
Police came back to the scene of the deadly mass shooting in west Houston on Monday to collect evidence after our abc13 Eyewitness News team discovered personal papers, documents, bullets and a military bag.
Our team brought that evidence to a police officer's attention and it was taken away.
The documents included a copy of Garza's birth certificate, showing he was born in San Bernardino County, California. A copy of his military discharge record was also among the papers. That document shows he achieved the rank of sergeant after four years as an infantryman. He also received several awards, including the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars and the Army Achievement Medal, among others.
Police believe the items were left behind after other items were detonated at the scene. Since they returned to the scene to collect the items, Eyewitness News Reporter Marla Carter asked if leaving the items at the scene was a mistake. They said they didn't know.
VIDEO: Eyewitness speaks about Sunday's mass shooting
Police would not provide an official comment on what was uncovered.
Little is known about the gunman who turned a peaceful community in west Houston into a personal shooting range on Sunday.
The victim who died in the shooting was identified today as 56-year-old Eugene Linscomb, according to the Harris County Medical Examiner's website.
The crime scene shut down traffic on Memorial at Wycliffe all day Sunday, but the road reopened this morning.
The gas station where the shooting began is charred this morning after the gunshots started a fire, according to authorities.
Investigators say around 10:15am, a gunman walked up to a man in the parking lot and shot and killed Linscomb.
After the shooting, investigators say the gunman went into the neighborhood and fired a number of shots, wounding three people. They were sent to the hospital and are expected to be OK, but remain in the hospital.
Police have not released a motive in the shooting.
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Our cameras were there last night as a tow truck removed a car from the crime scene. We noticed the vehicle's license plate had been covered up. Detectives also used a METRO bus to obstruct our camera's view of the tow truck leaving with the car.
Some who responded to the call for aid are being hailed as heroes, including Nicolas Latiolais.
The teen, a Boy Scout, saw one of the victims wounded lying in the street and used the man's vest as a tourniquet and sought help, asking someone to call 911.
Nicolas stayed with the man for 20 minutes until the ambulance arrived.
There's no word on the victim's current condition, but Nicolas is grateful he was there to help.
Police found the gunman and shot him. He died as a result of his injuries about 45 minutes after the first deadly shots were fired.
Another shooter is in the hospital, but according to HPD sources, this second armed person is not a suspect. They tell us he tried to shoot the suspect, but was shot himself.
Two deputy constables from Precinct 5 were shot. One man was shot in the hand, but was treated and released. Another was saved by his bullet-proof vest.
One victim, Denise Slaughter, was shot five times and is currently in the Intensive Care Unit. She's expected to be OK, but will have a long road to recovery. We talked to one of her family members who told us Denise was leaving the neighborhood, driving to brunch when the gunman opened fire.
The family member, who didn't want us to use her name, said, "They kept shooting at us. ...Denise had good sense to step on the gas. ... We got to safety, and saw that her wound was gushing blood."
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