Unarmed security guard killed outside Dallas hotel

DALLAS - A security guard was killed outside a North Dallas hotel overnight.

The fatal shooting happened around 1 a.m. Wednesday at the Holiday Inn Express on Vantage Point Drive, near Interstate 635 and Greenville Avenue.

Police believe 72-year-old Adane Yemru Weldekiros asked the suspect, 34-year-old Randall Terrell, to leave the property. He left but then came back and shot Weldekiros multiple times.

Justin Boggs was a witness and said he heard the guard begging for his life just before he was killed.

“I woke up 1 in the morning hearing the gunshots and I heard someone yelling, ‘Get down. Put your head on the ground. Put your head on the ground,’” Boggs recalled. “And I heard another person saying, ‘No. Please don’t do this. Please don’t do this.’ And I heard three more shots.”

Boggs said he looked out the window a few minutes later and saw a man holding a gun. He quickly closed the window and waiting for the cops to arrive.

According to the affidavit, Terrell was still on the scene when police arrived. When the officer asked if he'd shot the victim, he said "yes." But a motive is still unclear. The affidavit says Terrell told police "the pistol was in plain view in the open suitcase" next to him.

Weldekiros, an American citizen who was born in Ethiopia, was wearing a uniform but was unarmed. He had worked as a security guard at various locations for nine years, police said.

Boggs has been staying at the hotel for more than two weeks and says he got to know and like Weldekiros

"Super nice guy. Just a really, really nice guy,” Boggs said. “He's just been nothing but kind to us."

Terrell is being held in the Dallas County Jail on a murder charge. His bond has been set at $100,000.