Texas A&M shooter was 'a ticking time bomb'
ByThe gunman who killed a county constable and a bystander and wounded two others in a shooting near Texas A&M University Monday was a 'ticking time bomb' that was ready to blow, his family said, reports Daily News.
"He was crazy as hell," Richard Weaver, gunman Thomas Caffall's stepfather, told Houston station KPRC television. He also said he and his wife had not spoken to Caffall for several months.
Caffall's mother, Linda Weaver, released a statement Monday expressing sorrow for the victims and saying her son was ill, but didn't elaborate.
Shawn Kemp, a local acquaintance of Caffall's, told The Eagle newspaper that he 'fits the profile of a dude who might snap.' Caffall seemed depressed and often talked about guns and war, Kemp told the newspaper. He also added that he had heard that Caffall planned to pawn some of his guns to pay his rent.
Caffall, 35, died after being shot by SWAT officers during a 30-minute firefight in College Station, Texas, around 12 pm.
The shootout started shortly after noon when Caffall shot and killed Brian Bachmann, 41, a Brazos County constable and married father of two, while Bachmann was trying to serve him with a notice to evict his one-story, two bedroom house.
Rigo Cisneros, a neighbor and former Army medic, recorded some of the gunfight while taking cover beneath some bushes his yard, The Eagle reported.
After the shooting stopped, Cisneros told police he was a medic and was allowed to try to help the mortally wounded officer.
"I performed CPR. There were no vital signs on the constable when I got there," Cisneros told The Eagle. "He took one clear gunshot wound to the chest."
Cisneros also said he tried to help the shooter Caffall as well, who he said was shot 'several times.'
"(He) looked up at me and asked me to apologize to the officer that was shot," the 40-year-old medic said.
The shootout took place about a block from Texas A&M's campus, and the school's emergency website issued a 'Code Maroon' alert warning students and staffers to avoid the area.
In a statement posted on the school's website, Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin said the shooting marked 'a sad day in the Bryan-College Station community.'
"My thoughts and prayers, as well I am sure of the entire Aggie community, go out to the families and close friends of those who died so tragically, those who were injured and anyone else personally impacted by this senseless act of violence," Loftin said.