An argument last weekend between two women at a baby shower sparked a raging gun battle at a Red Bird-area event venue that left one man dead and three others injured, one of them critically, court documents show.
Joseph Premeaux, 33, who had traveled from his hometown of Houston to attend the shower, was shot in the chest before being rushed for treatment to Methodist Central Hospital, where he died, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
Jesus Angel Torres, 21, was arrested Monday after he sought treatment at a Mansfield hospital for a gunshot wound to his leg. As of Tuesday, he was being held without bond in the Dallas County jail after being booked on a murder charge. It was not clear if Torres has a lawyer.
Gunfire then chaos
Dallas police responded shortly before 10 p.m. on Dec. 6 to a shooting call in the 2600 block of W. Wheatland Road. The officers found multiple gunshot victims at the location when they arrived.
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Hector Valdez, 38, was shot in the head and was taken to Methodist Central Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.
“My husband is strong and fighting hard,” a relative, who appears to be Valdez’s wife, posted on Facebook. “He’s mine and the kids Rock. We need him to make it through.”
Rodolfo Sosa, 22, was shot in the hand and was taken to Parkland Medical Hospital, where he was treated and discharged, the affidavit said. Delilah Torres, 24, was shot in the ankle and was taken to Baylor University Medical Center in stable condition.
Police were notified that a man, later identified as Torres, suffered a gunshot wound to his leg and drove himself to Charlton Methodist Hospital before he was then taken to the Mansfield hospital.
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Police said Torres arrived at the hospital in a white Nissan Altima with a license plate matching the suspect’s vehicle that left the scene. He also matched the description of the suspect given to the officers at the scene by witnesses. Police later concluded that Torres was the suspect in the shooting.
Police have not said what the two women were arguing about or if the people involved in the gun battle knew each other.
Eyewitness to gunfire
A detective interviewed a witness, who was not identified in the affidavit, who said that she first saw an argument between two women which led to two men getting into a physical fight.
The witness, according to the affidavit, helped separate the people who were fighting and pushed Torres out of the building but as she turned around to go back inside she heard gunshots and saw Torres in the door frame pointing a gun and shooting into the building, striking multiple people.
“All the parties involved were guests to the event,” the affidavit said.
The affidavit said that a photo line-up was conducted and the unidentified witness confirmed that Torres was the shooter.
Officials with Verbazend Creations & Event Venue, which is where the shower was being held, said in a statement Monday: “We were informed that a family and friends dispute unfortunately ended in tragedy. At this time, we are fully cooperating with the authorities, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family involved.”
Mourners turn to online fundraising
Relatives of Premeaux are now struggling to make sense of the shooting and the loss of a loved one.
“Our hearts are hurting,” a family member of Premeaux posted on Facebook on Dec. 7. “He was loved, he mattered, and he will never be forgotten.”
A fundraiser posted on GoFundMe Monday aims to raise money for Premeaux’s funeral service and provide financial help to his three children. The target is set at $9,000 and over $6,000 has been raised, as of Tuesday afternoon.
“What was meant to be a joyful family gathering turned into a nightmare we never imagined,” the fundraising page description said.
The fundraiser description said Premeaux was a husband and a father of three children. He was also a plumber who was a few semesters away from getting a Journeyman plumbing license, the page said.
“He worked hard every day to give his family a better life and took pride in being the main provider for his home,” the page description said.