Dallas man says stranger shot him multiple times while on running trail

A Dallas man says he feared for his life when a stranger approached him on a running trail and shot him multiple times. 

He says the man shot him in his hip and shoulder. But he says the man was aiming for his head.

The victim says this was a morning exercise routine turned into a random shooting.

35-year-old Terrance Williams says he was exercising on a trail in between Singing Hills and Glendale Parks in Oak Cliff last Monday when a stranger who asked him for directions on the trail the day before approached him again.

"He looked at me, and he said, ‘This is going to be the last day that you see me.’ And it was confusing, and I didn’t know what it meant," he recalled. "So I just said okay, and I kept walking.

Williams says it quickly turned even more bizarre. 

"He kind of went behind the bushes, came out, went behind the bushes, came out again," he said. "And when he came out the second time, he had a mask pulled up over his face, covering half of his face, with his hand in his left pocket. And that’s when he was like really briskly approaching me. But then he pulled out the gun, and I screamed and ran."

Williams was shot in his right hip. And while lying wounded on the ground, Williams thought his life was about to end.

"He stood over me. He put the gun out over my face. It was pointed in my face, and I was just looking up at him, and he said, ‘You’re not dead. Don’t pretend to be dead. But you’re going to be dead now,’" he recalled. "And like a headshot, just fired two shots. And I don’t know if it was the grace of God who curved the bullets, my guardian angel, I don’t know if it was bad aim. I don’t know what it was, but he had that gun pointed at my head. One bullet hit my shoulder, and the other bullet hit the pavement."

Williams says the shooter left.

"With all my strength, I crawled to my cell phone and dialed 911," he said.

Williams was taken to the hospital by Dallas Fire Rescue. Dallas police say no arrests have been made.

Williams says he’ll never forget the look of the gunman’s eyes.

"They were just big and enraged and just angry. And his speech was kind of slurred and slow," he said. "Was he watching me? Was he targeting me?"

For now, Williams is too scared to return home to his neighborhood and overwhelmed by the thought of being face-to-face with a gunman.

"I think that I’m still here for a reason. I think I still have a purpose," he said.

Williams was interviewed by police.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact the Dallas Police Department.

Southeast Oak CliffCrime and Public Safety