Former employee who brought gun to Vandergriff Honda dealership shot by police
ARLINGTON, Texas - Police said a former employee of Vandergriff Honda went to the dealership with a shotgun and started firing.
The shooting happened Thursday around 6:30 p.m. at the Arlington dealership off the Interstate 20 frontage road between Cooper Street and Matlock Road.
When responding officers got to the scene, they said the man was still firing shots at the building.
Officers shot him and took him to the hospital.
On Friday morning, police identified the shooter as 25-year-old Abbas Al-Mutairy.
As of Friday morning, he is listed in critical condition.
Police said there were customers and employees at the dealership at the time. They took cover and thankfully no one else was hurt.
Witnesses reported hearing several shots and running away.
"Employees tried to protect me, push me to the back of the office. It was very scary," said customer Mai Dao. "Like three or four gunshots and then the second time the same."
Al-Mutairy never made it inside the building.
Police said Al-Mutairy had just been fired from the dealership within the past two months. It's unclear if went to the dealership to target a specific person.
"We don't know at this point if the suspect was directly firing at officers. It's going to take some time obviously reviewing body camera, walking through the evidence, going through the procedures," said Sgt. Courtney White with the Arlington Police Department.
Video from a neighboring dealership in Arlington shows a man in a blue shirt running through the parking lot with a gun. Gunshots can be heard in the video.
While police look through the evidence, two investigations will take place – a criminal one and an administrative one. That's routine after an officer-involved shooting.
The dealership will be closed on Friday for cleanup. Employees said the sprinkler system went off during the shooting and caused some flooding.
Al-Mutairy has been charged with two counts of Aggravated Assault Against a Public Servant and one count of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. Al-Mutairy could face more charges as the investigation continues.