Father, Son Targeted in Shooting: Police

By FRANK HEINZ

Updated 3:19 PM CST, Mon, Mar 8, 2010

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A gunman attacked a father and son inside a Dallas office building Monday morning, Dallas police said.

Just before 11 a.m., the Dallas police received two 911 calls from Smith Financial -- located inside the United Texas Bank building on 12222 Merit Drive. The first call was a hang-up and the second indicated shots had been fired.

Officers arrived at the building and were walking down a third-floor hallway when they heard a single gunshot.

"Officers thought they were being shot at and were in fear for their lives, so one officer fired at towards the suspect, but missed," said Sgt. Kevin Janse with the Dallas Police Deparment. "Apparently the shot that the officers heard was the suspect shooting himself."

The victims, 66-year-old Richard Smith and his son, 39-year-old Chris, knew the gunman, police said.

"The suspect is believed to be a past client that was unhappy over some business dealings. This was not a stranger on stranger offense," Janse said.

Richard was shot in the legs while his son was shot in the neck. Both victims were transported to Parkland Hospital in Dallas and are in stable condition. The gunman was transported to Baylor Hospital and is in very critical condition, police said.

Janse added that the name of the alleged gunman will not be released until charges are filed.

NBCDFW's Grant Stinchfield contributed to this report. Initial reports indicating the gunman exited an office, saw the officers and raised his weapon were not accurate. We regret the error.