Family: Richardson gunman killed friend who gave him place to stay

RICHARDSON, Texas - The family of the civilian killed in the Richardson apartment shooting says the gunman was temporarily staying with him.

Police say Brandon McCall shot and killed 30-year-old Rene Gamez Wednesday night at the Breckinridge Point Apartments. When police responded, McCall also shot 37-year-old Richardson Police Officer David Sherrard. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Gamez’s family is left wondering why the tragedy happened.

Crime scene detectives were still gathering evidence Friday afternoon at the Richardson apartment complex where Gamez lived.

Judith Loera is Gamez's mother and also lived with her son at his apartment. She says Gamez let McCall stay on the sofa at his apartment because he had nowhere else to go.

“I didn't expect to lose my son this way and this young and to something that is so evil,” she said.

Loera says he son was a kind man who’s known McCall for a long time. She was at work Wednesday night when the shooting happened.

“For my son and the officer, it’s just not right,” Loera said. “I do hurt. I think this is the worst nightmare ever.”

Loera says her heart breaks for the loss of her son and Officer Sherrard's widow, Nicole.

On Thursday night, Nicole posted several comments on the FOX 4 Facebook page as the body of her husband was escorted from the Collin County Medical Examiner's Office to Restland Cemetery in Dallas.

"David, you were loved by so many!” she wrote. “He would be so mad that he didn't get to drive. He was the best! This is so sad yet beautiful! I never thought this would be us."

Gamez's sister, Stephanie Camarillo, says her family grieves with the Sherrards.

“It’s sad that Brandon took that. He took not only my brother, but an officer,” Camarillo said. “Two people died that night. Not just one. Two. They were both victims. There were two families in this tragedy that are left with what? Nothing but memories.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with funeral expenses for Gamez.

McCall is charged with capital murder of a police officer and is being held without bond. He has yet to be officially charged in connection with Gamez's death.