Texarkana Aluminum shooting in Nash, Texas leaves man trying to protect fellow worker dead, shooter killing self after paroled murderer came to wife’s job. Shooter identified as Wendell Lane Champion Jr., worker killed, Eddie Ray Hill Jr and domestic violence victim who survived as Candis Jolene Champion.
A gunman convicted of murder and released on parole last year killed a man trying to protect the shooter’s wife, leaving the woman seriously injured before turning the gun on himself in a factory parking lot Tuesday morning, Texas authorities said.
The shooting happened around 6:30 a.m. at Texarkana Aluminum on Alumax Drive in Nash, Texas. Nash Police officers arriving at the scene found the bodies of two men and a critically injured woman.
Investigators identified the shooter as Wendell Lane Champion Jr., 40, of Hope, Arkansas. Police said the incident began as a domestic dispute between Champion and his wife, Candis Jolene Champion, 37, an employee at the plant.
Domestic violence tragedy at Nash, Texas aluminum plant
A second man, Eddie Ray Hill Jr., 48, of Texarkana, Texas, was shot and killed when he tried to intervene in the confrontation after arriving for work, FOX26 reported citing police.
After killing Hill, police say the suspect shot his wife and then committed suicide. Candis Champion was taken to a Texarkana hospital. Police officials say she is stable, but did not release her condition.
Wendell Champion was convicted of first-degree murder in Harris County, Texas, in 2010 and was released on parole in 2025 following a fatal armed robbery.
Champion and another person, Prinston Mortel Williams, were charged with capital murder that happened on Aug. 26, 2007. According to the City of Houston, 57-year-old Luis A. Ayala, a security officer, was shot in the leg and died from his injuries. Police said Champion and Williams went into the business and assaulted and shot Ayala before they robbed an employee at gunpoint. They ran from the scene with a large amount of cash.
Williams was convicted of the lesser-included offense of aggravated robbery and sentenced to life in prison.
Texarkana Aluminum shooting investigated
Authorities stated there are no other suspects and no ongoing threat to the public. The investigation into the circumstances of the shooting remains active.
‘The Nash Police Department extends its deepest condolences to the families, loved ones, and the employees of Texarkana Aluminum who were affected by this tragedy,’ the department said in a statement.
Nash is a city in Bowie County, Texas, and is just west of Texarkana.
