Tyler, Texas Shooting
I kept reading news reports yesterday about a shooting. They all had the same basic byline that someone with a high-powered rifle (or AK-47) had went nuts at a courthouse in Texas. Insert usual rant about how it was not an AK-47 and wasn’t high-powered but rather the medium-powered 7.62X39 cartridge. Anyway:
David Hernandez Arroyo Sr. armored up with multiple layers of body armor, killed his wife and attempted to shoot his son. However, a Texas CCW holder intervened:
The noise prompted Mark Wilson, a gun enthusiast, to intervene as Arroyo continued to fire on his wounded son.
“They traded shots, missing each other, and then the gunman hit Wilson and Wilson went down,” said Nelson Clyde III, publisher of the Tyler Morning Telegraph, recalling the shooting as he watched from Don Juan’s.
“The gunman walked up to Wilson and shot him while he was on the ground,” Clyde said. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing … it was sickening.”
“He was either wounded or dead, but the guy (Arroyo) shot him again to make sure he wouldn’t get up,” said witness Brandon Malone, a Tyler builder who was lunching inside Don Juan’s.
Mr. Wilson saved the life of Arroyo’s son and likely the lives of other people by intervening and drawing fire from Arroyo. Unfortunately for Mr. Wilson, the suspect was armored up and very likely his pistol ammunition could not penetrate the armor. Mr. Wilson died a hero.
Hat tip to reader Airboss who notes: This is why I practice and I practice head shots.
Round up:
Sheepdog notes it was a scoped AKM clone. The DFW story fails to mention Mr. Wilson engaging Arroyo.
Publicola has a detailed account.
The Geek notes possibly two CCW carriers engaged Arroyo and that bullets don’t make you invincible.
Update: From Fox:
“One of the deputies at the scene said if it hadn’t been for Mr. Wilson,” said Sheriff J.B. Smith, “the son would be dead.”
Friends who visited the son in the hospital Thursday night said he told them that his father was always open about having a collection of weapons.
Aurea Seanez said the son told them, “And look now, he used them on us.”
Wilson, a gun enthusiast who once owned a shooting range, intervened after Arroyo killed his ex-wife, witnesses said. Swindle, the police chief, said Wilson shot at Arroyo several times but his rounds weren’t penetrating the armor.
Update 2: Robert (a reader and friend of Mr. Wilson) notes in comments over at The Geek’s:
Just talked to the friend who is handling the details for Marks family. He said Mark was IN his apt, evidently heard shooting outside and grabbed his carry gun, a Glock 9mm, and went out the door. He said Mark had expected a shootout at the courthouse sooner or later.
Unknown which Glock 9mm, and unknown whether he shot dry. This friend said Mark went prone for cover, then was shot trying to evade the gunman when the gunman closed on his position behind the gunman’s truck.
Witnesses say he had several hits on the gunmans torso, all absorbed by the body armor.
February 25th, 2005 at 10:05 am
I’ve got to echo the sentiments of my retired state cop dad.
You don’t practice with someone shooting back at you…
February 25th, 2005 at 10:35 am
this is pretty close to the absoult worst case that i can think of being a CCW holder.
I hope wilson (the ccw holder who was killled) is recoginized and that their are videos which can be used as training aids to help CCW holders understand the importance of being able to shoot extremly well.
February 25th, 2005 at 10:59 am
Incredibly sad event. At least the police saved us all some money and capped the BGs sorry ass.
A couple of lessons to take away:
1) Don’t bring a pistol to a rifle fight. You can’t go head-to-head, period.
2) A pickup truck makes for lousy cover. Most cars can be easily penetrated with a handgun round, save for the engine block itself.
I suspect Mr. Wilson knew these things, but waded into the fight nonetheless to save people’s lives. God bless him and his family.
February 25th, 2005 at 11:36 am
Ditto what JR said.
I can think of very few instances of higher bravery than going up against a guy with a high capacity, semi-automatic rifle with a five-shot snubnose .38 revolver. Especially when it’s to save a complete stranger.
That’s balls, folks. Giant clanging brass ones.
Say hi to Adam for us, Mark…
February 25th, 2005 at 11:50 am
Keep in mind that High Power Rifle is broad term often used for centerfire calibers from .22 on up, to differentiate from smallbore weapons. You often hear it when referring to rifle competition.
February 25th, 2005 at 12:09 pm
Robert,
High Power in the competition sense is a specific type of event. It’s shot mainly with .223 or .308 projectiles but it doesn’t necessarily refer to the level of energy involved. It’s simply a name that got attached a long time ago – back when the ’06 was a really fast .30 – & stuck.
A .22 is a smallbore weapon. the .30’s would be medium & the .35’s & up would be large. the small, medium & large are just relative descriptions of bore size though. if everything larger than .308 was outlawed then the meaning would shift a bit for each one.
But the reproter didn’t mean any of that – they meant a high powered weapon, which they mistakenly think the AK & derivitives are.
February 25th, 2005 at 12:54 pm
Update: Commenter “Robert” at the Geekwitha45 website tells us that it was not a snubbie but a 9mm.
Doesn’t change my estimation one whit – it still takes a giant pair of brass ones to go up against a semi-auto, high capacity battle rifle with a pistol…
February 25th, 2005 at 2:32 pm
I generally think in terms of high power and small bore due to a lot of exposure to the terminology. The division can be seen in High Powered Rifle Silhouette and Small Bore Rifle Silhouhette, Highpower International Rifle and Smallbore International Rifle, NRA Highpower Rifle (Service, Match & Sporting) and NRA Smallbore Rifle. It is common, and just one of many divisions in firearms classifications. I’m not necissarily saying anything about the writer’s intent, just that that caliber can be classified as high powered. I realize we are not specifically talking competition in this case, but when I read “high powered” I think of nothing more than a centerfire rifle. If I were writing, I could easily make the same mistake.
February 26th, 2005 at 1:55 am
This is also why one must practice the Mozambique. After two solid hits to the COM, if you don’t see the orc go down, you must go for the head.
I wouldn’t train for head shots first, but surely head shots after COM shots have failed to end the conflict.
February 28th, 2005 at 1:46 am
Thanks for being one of us few people who are giving Mr. Wilson the recognition he deserves. This is the first that I heard of the attacker’s weapon not being an AK-47. Looks like I’ll need to update the posts on my blog. Nice work!
April 17th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
[…] Tyler, Texas: Shooter on the loose. Mark Hears the noise and grabs a gun. He intervenes and saves the life of one man (who turns out to be the shooters’ son). He also drew fire from the murderer and likely saved more lives. Sadly, Mr. Wilson was murdered on the scene. […]