![DallasNews.com](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20100309030034im_/http://www.dallasnews.com/images/logo_printerfriendly.jpg)
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20100309030034im_/http://www.dallasnews.com/images/cgm/check_icon.gif)
![]() |
|
![]() |
RSS |
![]() |
|
Gunman shoots father-son financial advisers, himself at North Dallas office
05:11 PM CST on Monday, March 8, 2010
A gunman this morning shot a father and son who run a North Dallas financial services company, then turned his weapon on himself, police said.
Dallas police spokesman discusses shootings at North Dallas office tower
Richard Smith, 66, and his 39-year-old son, Christopher, were taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital. Richard Smith was in stable condition Monday afternoon with wounds to the legs, and Christopher Smith was in serious condition with wounds to the face and neck, police said.
The gunman, whose identity was not released, was in critical condition Monday afternoon at Baylor University Medical Center. Police said his identity would not be released unless he does not survive or until he is officially arrested and charged.
The shootings took place about 10:30 a.m. inside Smith Financial Group at 12222 Merit Drive, not far from Medical City Dallas. The business is owned by Richard and Christopher Smith, according to Dallas police spokesman Kevin Janse.
He said the gunman may have been a dissatisfied client of the father-and-son financial advisers.
"This individual knew his victims. He was apparently disgruntled with them or had problems with them," Janse said.
Janse said an initial call to 911 ended abruptly when the caller hung up. A short time later, the police got a report that shots had been fired.
"Officers then perceived that they may have an active shooter in the building," he said. "They got here rather quickly, and their quick response may have saved everybody's life."
The two victims ran and hid after they were shot, and the gunman was looking for them when the first officers arrived, Janse said.
The officers were walking down a hall to the third-floor office suite when they encountered the shooter, who "was still walking around looking for the two victims, who were scurrying around trying to hide from him," Janse said.
When the gunman pointed his weapon toward the officers, they fired at him, but missed.
The gunman then stepped into the office suite where the father and son had their business, and shot himself.
One witness, Robin Wynne, said he was standing near a security desk in the building's lobby when he saw the wounded son stumble out of a stairwell.
![Dallas police officers and Dallas Fire-Rescue personnel confer Monday morning outside the North Dallas office tower where a man shot father-son financial advisers before turning the gun on himself. JIM MAHONEY/DMN](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20100309030034im_/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/03-10/0309meritshootings268.jpg)
The man had been shot in the left shoulder or neck, Wynne said.
"He was in shock. He said he thought his dad had been killed," Wynne said.
Janse said the building remained locked down even after the gunman shot himself because police were not sure how big the crime scene may have been.
"We've got to talk to a lot of witnesses," he said. "We are not sure if he started firing before he went into the suite."
Jeremy Roberts, a Carrollton firefighter, said he rushed to the building after hearing from a friend who works for an insurance company in the building.
"She was a little nervous. She didn't know what was going on," he said. His friend hid in a locked room until police arrived, he said.
Marcella Cavazos, a lawyer who works on the fourth floor of the building, said she heard five to six shots just before 11 a.m.
She said it sounded like the shots had come from the floor below – a floor largely occupied by lawyers' and doctors' offices.
"We just heard the shots, and security told us not to leave," she said.
![]() |
| | ![]() |
RSS | | | ![]() |
| | | | ![]() |
Send a news tip |
Create A Screen Name
Screen names can only consist of letters and numbers.
Your screen name will appear to everyone.
NOTE: You cannot change, delete,
or edit your screen name once you hit "Save".
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20100309030034im_/http://www.dallasnews.com/images/pixel.gif)
Dallas police spokesman discusses shootings at North Dallas office tower
Hundreds show up for 'Wheel of Fortune' auditions
2010 Dallas Auto Show rolls into convention center
Dallas Police release surveillance video of church robbery
Crews prepare Texas Stadium for implosion
White Rock neighborhood, Dallas sanitation services try to reconcile trash pickup dispute
Digital animation shows UT-Arlington's planned Special Events Center
Fort Worth Zoo opens Museum of Living Art
Todd Archer: Antrel Rolle could fit with Cowboys
Patrons remember destroyed restaurants, bars on lower Greenville Avenue
City Hall blog: Six finalists named for Dallas police chief job
Dallas area could get rain overnight, but warm, sunny Tuesday expected
Gunman shoots father-son financial advisers, himself at North Dallas office
Leach to deliver deposition in lawsuit against Texas Tech
Frisco City Council nixes ballot measure on funds for Collin County arts hall
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20100309030034im_/http://www.dallasnews.com/images/pixel.gif)
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20100309030034im_/http://www.dallasnews.com/images/spacer.gif)
You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!
You are logged in as screenname | Log Out
You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Create a Screen Name