Tyler Courthouse Shooting
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

On February 24, 2005, a man opened fire outside the courthouse in
Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...
, killing his ex-wife and wounding his son before engaging in a shootout with police and court officers. David Hernandez Arroyo Sr. used a Type 56S rifle to carry out the attack. A local resident, Mark Alan Wilson, attempted to intervene but was fatally shot. Arroyo was later killed by police following a high-speed pursuit.


Details


Shootout begins

At the time of the shooting, Maribel Estrada and her 23-year-old son, David Hernandez Arroyo Jr., were entering the courthouse for a hearing regarding her ex-husband's failure to pay child support after their 2004 divorce. Estrada's lawyer later stated that his client did not believe her ex-husband to be dangerous. Arroyo, who had parked and lain in wait near the courthouse, approached his ex-wife and son on the steps outside the Smith County Courthouse and fired on them with an
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...
rifle. Estrada was hit in the head and killed instantly, and Arroyo's son was hit in the leg and wounded. Both fell to the ground at the rear courthouse steps. Nearby law enforcement officers already present at the courthouse responded to the initial shots and began exchanging fire with Arroyo. At this point, the law enforcement officers were only armed with pistols, and Arroyo was able to wound several and force them to retreat.


Mark Alan Wilson

A local resident, Mark Alan Wilson, was in his downtown loft when he heard the shooting begin. He looked out his window and saw Arroyo at the courthouse steps engaged in a shootout with law enforcement. Wilson, who held a Texas concealed handgun permit, immediately armed himself with his Colt .45 caliber pistol, and left his residence to intervene in the gun battle. Because Arroyo was already engaged in a heated gun battle with sheriff's deputies and Tyler
police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...
s, he did not see Wilson approach from behind. As Wilson approached Arroyo from behind, Arroyo was taking aim at his son whom he had already shot in the leg and wounded. Acting to defend the life of Arroyo's son, Wilson fired a round from approximately 50 feet, which struck Arroyo in the back, causing him to stumble and taking his attention away from his son. A witness who saw Wilson's round strike Arroyo reported seeing "white puffs of powder-like substance" come from Arroyo's clothing. This is believed to be the first time Arroyo was hit or injured during his attack on the courthouse. Wilson was forced to take cover behind Arroyo's truck in a prone position and exchanged fire with Arroyo. As Arroyo began to approach Wilson's position, he stood up from behind cover and fired again, hitting Arroyo. Unknown to Wilson, Arroyo was wearing a
bulletproof vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or bullet-resistant vest, is a type of body armor designed to absorb impact and prevent the penetration of firearm projectiles and explosion fragments to the torso. The vest can be either soft ...
, rendering Wilson's shots ineffective. Arroyo eventually fired a shot that struck Wilson, who faltered and fell from the view of witnesses, face down behind Arroyo's truck. Arroyo then walked up to Wilson and fired three more shots at him, killing him.


Pursuit and Arroyo's death

Officers from the Tyler Police Department, including Officer Wayne Allen was operating the pursuit vehicle with Sergeant Rusty Jacks, a trained sniper armed with a
Colt AR-15 The Colt AR-15 is a product line of magazine-fed, gas-operated, semi auto rifle manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company ("Colt") in many configurations. The rifle is a derivative of its predecessor, the lightweight ArmaLite AR-15, an ...
rifle, as his passenger, soon arrived on the scene. After 116 rounds had been fired outside the courthouse, 66 by Arroyo, 5 by Mark Alan Wilson, and 45 by police, the assailant attempted to flee and a pursuit ensued. The pursuit continued from the city streets of Tyler to a nearby highway. At the terminus of the pursuit, Arroyo fired at the vehicle of Deputy Sheriff John Smith who had pulled closely behind Arroyo's truck during the pursuit. After taking fire, Deputy Smith returned fire with his vehicle still in motion and used his patrol car to ram Arroyo's truck. Arroyo stopped his vehicle, exited it, and attempted to fire upon Smith, whose patrol car had essentially come to a stop on the passenger side of Arroyo's truck after ramming it. Smith sped away to avoid Arroyo's shots and gunfire from other law enforcement officers, leaving Officers Allen and Jacks in the direct line of fire. With Arroyo now out of his vehicle, Sgt. Rusty Jacks exited Officer Allen's vehicle and fired five shots from his rifle, hitting Arroyo in the back of the head and killing him instantly as he attempted to get back into his vehicle.


Aftermath

The shooting was widely covered by national news organizations and video from the incident is readily accessible on the Internet. Mark Wilson has been widely credited as heroic for his actions, which are believed to have caused Arroyo to cease his attack and flee the area without murdering his son, and the Texas House unanimously adopted a resolution (HR. 740) on March 31, 2005, to honor him.


Casualties

*Mark Alan Wilson and Maribel Estrada were killed at the shooting scene. *David Hernandez Arroyo Jr. was wounded in the leg, but survived. *Smith County sheriff's deputies Sherman Dollison, 28, and Marlin Suell, 38, were wounded during the incident. *Tyler police officer Clay Perrett was wounded during the incident.


See also

* 2003 Ennis shooting * Brian Nichols,
Fulton County, Georgia Fulton County is a county in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,066,710, making it the state's most populous county. Its county seat and most ...
courthouse shooter *
Kirkwood City Council shooting On February 7, 2008, a gunman went on a shooting rampage at a public meeting in the city hall, leaving six people dead and a seventh injured in Kirkwood, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton, aged 52, shot one police o ...
* Marin County courthouse incident


References


External links


Article on the method and ethics of defending others with a firearm.

Story of the shooting with video of the incident.

News article about the shooting


{{coord, 32.3512, -95.2999, type:event_region:US-TX, display=title 2000s crimes in Texas 2005 in Texas 2005 mass shootings in the United States 2005 murders in the United States Attacks on buildings and structures in Texas Deaths by firearm in Texas February 2005 crimes in the United States Filmed killings in North America Mass shootings in Texas Attacks on government buildings and structures in the United States Attacks on courthouses Mass shootings involving armed citizens Murder in Texas Shootouts in the United States Tyler, Texas Attacks on buildings and structures in 2005