What led to Dionisio Garza III an army veteran going on a West Houston shooting rampage? A community seeks answers as PTSD is now suspected.
Dinisio Garza III a 25 year old army veteran thought to be suffering from PTSD has been identified as the suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting in West Houston which left two dead (including the shooter) and six wounded.
The identification of the memorial day weekend Houston gun shooter comes after social media reports describe Dinisio Garza having served four tours of duty in Afghanistan.
Not necessarily understood why, the army vet was discharged from active duty in 2014.
Until opening fire, Garza, hailing from San Bernardino County, California, had no criminal history, but did harbor anti government sentiments.
The man’s death came after going on a rampage with a high-powered AR15 rifle, where he shot at bystanders before police gunned him down.
Of note, upon going on a shooting rampage, a couple who ran a local carwash, whom Dinisio Garza was a customer of told of the gunman having grown a beard with Garza shouting slurs about ‘gays, Jews and sinners.’
#Houston West #Texas Active Shooter incident: Unconfirmed footage of shots being fired in the area. https://t.co/hLDacx1hBB via @YouTube
— Genvisec Infomap (@GenvisecInfomap) May 29, 2016
@PoliticsGhost pic.twitter.com/zxEUmO6aMX Active shooter in west Houston near Memorial and Wilcrest police scanner https://t.co/Ml8EyKufXv
— squidgirlforghost (@squidgirl_ghost) May 29, 2016
What we uncovered prompted police to return to mass shooting scene and collect evidence @abc13houston pic.twitter.com/4tT4MOh21Q
— Marla Carter (@MarlaABC13) May 30, 2016
Killed at the hands of Dionisio Garza III was Eugene Linscomb, a customer who was indiscriminately gunned down at a nearby auto-shop. Critically injured was husband/father and Good Samaritan, Byron Wilson, who police say was trying to fight back and stop the deadly attack.
According to KHOU, Garza had recently expressed anti-government sentiments, nevertheless authorities have told the motive behind Sunday’s shooting remains unknown.
Told Dionisio Garza’s father via Click 2 Houston: ‘We have not received confirmation, but I strongly suspect. I really believe this is a PTSD thing.
‘On the internet he met some people or some people that believed like him.’
Notably, the gunman’s father told his son had moved to Houston to meet others who thought the United States was on the brink of collapse.
Offered the gunman’s father: ‘He was rambling off about the economy collapsing, you know,’
‘And that something was going to happen by Monday, that kind of stuff. Of course you look back now and there were signs.’
Of note, a report via the dailymail, describes an instance in 2013, where a woman believed to be Dionisio Garza III’s mother writing on Facebook that she’d spoken to her son on the phone.
He told her that five of his fellow troops had died in Afghanistan over the weekend.
Indicating premonitions that Dionisio Garza may have planned his last stand, authorities tell of having found a military backpack at the scene filled with personal papers, documents and bullets.
The backpack was later detonated by a SWAT team, with the bag’s items bursting into flames.
Havoc first came to the fore just after 10.15 am Sunday morning as stunned witnesses told of hearing gunshots in west Houston, Texas.
When officers arrived, the as of yet un-identified suspect turned fire on police, whom he randomly showered with gunfire.
Sprayed bullets led to a gas pump igniting in fire while dozens of cars went on to be hit by stray bullets, narrowly missing drivers making their way through the normally quiet residential area.
At 12.30pm, Linscomb was shot dead in his car as a bullet burst through the window.
During the shooting, two officers were shot – one in the hand and one in his body, with both surviving thanks to bulletproof vests.
Another three civilians were also shot and wounded. All of them are expected to survive.
One of the survivors was saved in part by a 17-year-old Boy Scout.
There were initial reports of two gunmen, but police later confirmed that Wilson was a Good Samaritan who was fighting back.
He was wounded but is expected to survive.
