May 1-- A Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic is in critical but stable condition after being shot Monday morning while responding to a call, and the suspected shooter who was later found dead inside a home along with another person reportedly had a history of run-ins with the law.
NBC5 reports that the initial shooting in the Dolphin Heights neighborhood was sparked by a dispute between neighbors along the 3200 block of Reynolds Ave. around 11:30 a.m. Dallas police said during a press conference that the DFR paramedic, an 11-year veteran who has not been identified, was the first to respond to the shooting call and was providing aid on scene when he came under fire.
Dallas police arrived moments later and spotted the DFR ambulance and the medic lying in the street. Interim Chief of Police David Pughes said that as officers arrived, they were immediately under fire and trying to maintain cover, but he said an arriving police sergeant placed himself at extreme risk and went in alone to pull the injured paramedic to safety.
The sergeant then put the EMT in his patrol car and drove him to Baylor Medical Center, saving his life, Pughes said.
"The long and the short of this is we had a paramedic that worked diligently and with great vigor to take care of somebody," Mayor Mike Rawlings said. "We had a great police officer that did the same. Every day these fire rescue officers and police put their lives on the line. You saw it today and I'm so proud of these guys for taking the action they did."
The original shooting victim, the gunman's neighbor, is in stable condition at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, according to police.
For several hours, police described the scene as "active and very dangerous" while officers went door-to-door searching for the suspected gunman. Pughes said officers eventually received a tip that the man was hiding in a nearby house, and when police sent in a robot to have a look, they discovered the bodies of the suspected gunman and another person.
The gunman was later identified as 36-year-old Derick Lamont Brown, according to WFAA.
WFAA says court records show Brown had a long criminal history, including an assault charge, several DWIs, and gun offenses.
In 2008, he was involved in a car accident in Dallas, records show. When responding Dallas police officers approached his vehicle, he yelled, "I’m high… I’m high and I have a gun!”
Police arrested him for felony possession of PCP. Brown pleaded guilty and got two years of probation.
Then, about two years ago, Brown obtained a concealed carry license from the state of Florida.
In 2015, he was involved in another car accident in Dallas. When officers approached his vehicle during that incident, they observed Brown “holding a loaded magazine in his (right) hand” and “a 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun” in his left hand, according to records. Officers smelled what they thought was PCP and arrested Brown for being under the influence of a narcotic and for unlawful carry of a weapon by a license holder.
Brown was sentenced to jail and was released two months ago.
Sources told WFAA that Brown had ties to a black militant group, and that may or may not be the reason the FBI and ATF were on the scene Monday.
WFAA spoke to family members and learned Brown was the father of 18 children and worked as a janitor at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
