Neighbor describes witnessing deadly Sunnyvale shooting
SUNNYVALE (CBSNewsTexas.com) - Neighbors who live near the townhouse community where a gunman killed a woman and injured a man and his three children called the crime shocking Monday.
The woman killed has been identified as 27-year-old Tyesha Merritt. Police said Merritt, a Mesquite resident, was with her brother and his children in the parking lot of the Riverstone Trails Townhomes in Sunnyvale when a masked gunman approached the car they were in and opened fire.
"There were babies in the car, that's what I don't understand," said Michaelle Hawkins, a resident who heard the violence. "Babies, who does that?"
Hawkins said she saw a masked man chasing the adult male victim, after hearing gunshots:
"The heavyset guy jumped out. The man (victim) was running with his baby to try and protect the baby."
Meanwhile, the shooting continued to weigh heavy on another neighborhood resident's mind, 24 hours after the incident:
"I had to make sure everything is locked up before we went to bed last night, locking everything double tight and hoping nobody else will be coming through here doing nothing else crazy," said Doris Wright.
The Wrights have lived in the Riverstone Trails Townhomes for four years. But what happened Sunday evening has them on edge.
"That doesn't make you rest easy, because you would hope and would want them to go ahead and catch the people that did this so they could be locked up," said Wright.
Police said the children, ages eight to 10, are all stable but in critical condition. The children's father was released from the hospital.
Sunnyvale Police Chief Bill Vegas confirmed the shooting is the first homicide of the year for the small East Dallas County city. He said the suspected gunman and a possible accomplice were driving a black late model sedan with custom wheels.
Anyone with information should contact North Texas CRIMESTOPPERS at 877-373-TIPS (8477).