Police identify suspect after woman shot, killed inside Lewisville office building
Travis Lee Merrill (Source: Denton County Jail)
LEWISVILLE, Texas - A woman is dead, and a man is in custody after a workplace shooting in Lewisville on Thursday. Police have identified the murder suspect as 51-year-old Travis Lee Merrill.
Lewisville police said they got a call around 11:30 a.m. about an active shooter.
Police say people witnessed one of their co-workers being shot at her desk while on her lunch break.
"I was in my office and I watched a bunch of our CID officers go running out saying there’s an active shooter at 1825 Lakeway," said Rachel Roberts, the Public Information Officer with the Lewisville Police Department. "I quickly realized that is directly behind me and my office."
The department shares a parking lot with Allegiance Trucks.
Officers arrived at the scene within minutes and said the suspect was inside, giving himself up.
"He was already on his knees with his hands in the air, with no weapon showing," said Roberts.
Police say they recovered a gun.
The female victim was taken to the hospital, where she later died.
Police haven’t released any details about the relationship between the man and the woman, but said they knew each other.
"We still haven’t got a clear picture of what their relationship was, if they even had a relationship," said Roberts.
A doorhandle was broken at the front entrance of the business. It is unclear if that's from police, the shooter or someone else. It appears people need a code or badge to get in.
It's unclear if the suspected shooter worked there or had some sort of access.
Detectives are now interviewing a few dozen witnesses to try to determine exactly what happened.
"Some were inside, some were outside and some had nothing to do with it. They were just in the vicinity when this was going on," said Roberts.
The victim's name has not been released pending notification of the family.