Man opens fire at trail ride party — leaving 25-year-old ‘cowboy’ dead, TX sheriff says
A man was shot and run over by a car Saturday at a huge horseback trail riding party in Texas, and a suspect is now in custody, investigators announced Tuesday.
According to the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office, 24-year-old Deotis Gray was arrested on a charge of murder, after he allegedly opened fire at the party outside Waco with an AK-47 rifle, KXXV reported.
Scotty Stephens, 25, was killed.
Stephens was the intended target, Sheriff Parnell McNamara told KAMC, and his killing may be connected to a previous shooting in Waco.
Authorities estimate between 500 and 1,000 people were at the trail riding event when the shooting occurred around 2 a.m., according to the outlet.
Chaos ensued as shots rang out, and in addition to being shot, Stephens was run over by a vehicle trying to escape the fray, McNamara told KWTX.
Stephens was sometimes called “John Wayne Kelly” by friends and family because of his love of riding horses, his family told KWTX.
Investigators believe gang violence led to the shooting. Stephens had no gang ties, however, some of his relatives might, family members told the station.
“Everybody knows the difference between a cowboy and a gang — a gang is a set of organized criminals, we’re none of that, and neither was ‘John Wayne Kelly,’” Stephens’ aunt said at a memorial, the TV station reported.
Gray’s bond has been set at $1 million, KAMC reported.
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