Sunnyvale police have yet to ID a suspect in last night’s deadly shooting that claimed the life of a Mesquite woman and critically injured three children.
What to Know
- A masked man approached a family's car Sunday afternoon and began shooting. The motive for the attack is unknown.
- A woman was killed and her brother and his three children were injured. He is out of the hospital and his children remain in critical condition Monday.
- Police looking for a man and a woman in a late-model black sedan -- no better description of the vehicle or man and woman are available.
Sunnyvale Police are searching for the man who opened fire on a family's vehicle Sunday evening, killing a woman, injuring her brother and critically wounding his three young children.
The shooting was reported just before 6 p.m. Sunday at the Riverstone Trail Townhomes located at 201 Planters Road.
This is not something that is typical of Sunnyvale. Sunnyvale is like no other community. We have our crime [but] don’t normally experience this kind of stuff. We don’t have the shooting like we had last night. It was a horrific scene, so it was an evil -- there was a lot of evil last night.
Bill Vegas, Sunnyvale Chief of Police
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On Monday morning, the Sunnyvale Chief of Police Bill Vegas confirmed that 27-year-old Tyesha Merritt, of Mesquite, was killed in the attack and that her brother and his three children were hurt.
Police said the woman's bother, whose name has not yet been released, was discharged from the hospital Monday morning. His three children, ages 8-10, remain in the hospital in critical condition for gunshot wounds.
According to Vegas, a man and a woman followed the family's car into the parking lot at the townhomes. Moments later, as the family sat in their vehicle, a man approached them and immediately began opening fire. Police have not yet revealed a motive for the attack.
"I've been in the business for 33 years, and it's never an easy scene to walk up on to a scene where there have been five people shot -- three children is pretty horrific," said Vegas, who described the area as safe. "We're here and we're going to make sure that we find out who is responsible."
Vegas said multiple witnesses described the shooter as a man wearing some kind of mask over at least a portion of his face. Witnesses said he was accompanied by a woman in a black sedan. A previous report describing the gunman's vehicle said it may have been a Toyota Camry. But because of conflicting witness reports, Vegas is not very confident about the possible make and model of the vehicle.
SUNNYVALE SHOOTING
A resident of the townhomes told NBC 5 her young daughter has previously played with the kids who were injured and was outside playing when the shooting began.
"I heard about seven rounds, came outside to come and get her (as she motions to her young daughter) and then I saw one of the men who was injured hobbled over there where the cones are," said a woman who lives near the building where the shooting happened. "It was a moment of panic. You never know which way it was coming."
Other residents told NBC 5 it's normally very quiet in their community and they've never experienced anything like this in the past.
"Stuff like this doesn't really happen over here, people not getting shot over here. It's Sunnyvale, nothing really happens," said Cearria Traylor, who lives at the complex. "It hurts me because life is precious, I love life, like life is beautiful to me and for it to be gone -- like it's kind of crazy."
Vegas agreed, adding it was jarring for the normally quiet community to suffer such an outburst of violence.
"This is very shocking. This is Sunnyvale, it's very quiet. Sunnyvale is very safe. We've very seldom received calls in the apartments. We have a good working relationship with a lot of people that live in the apartments. We don't have this kind of violence that occurs. So I would say, generally, it's pretty safe. This is kind of a random, something that we don't normally experience," said the Vegas.
Sunnyvale Police said Mesquite Police helped investigate the crime scene and collect evidence. The investigation and the search for the gunman are going.
Anyone with any information about this incident should contact North Texas Crime Stoppers at 1-877-373-8477. Tipsters may remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to the arrest and indictment of a suspect(s).
This story is developing. Check back and/or refresh for updates.
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