The Latest: Suspect says he's innocent of party shooting

The Latest: Suspect says he's innocent of party shooting


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GREENVILLE, Texas (AP) — The Latest on the shooting at an off-campus college party in Texas that left two dead (all times local):

8 p.m.

A man suspected of opening fire at an off-campus college party is telling a television station that he's innocent.

In an interview from the Hunt County jail in Greenville, Texas, Brandon Ray Gonzales tells WFAA-TV that he was at the Halloween-themed party on Saturday night dressed as a security guard. But he says he was not inside the party hall just outside Greenville when a shooter began firing, killing two people and injuring a dozen others.

He says he was in his car outside the hall when the gunfire erupted and says he has witnesses who can corroborate his whereabouts. He wouldn't identify those witnesses to the interviewer.

The 23-year-old father of three was arrested Monday morning at his job washing cars at a Greenville auto dealership. He's jailed on a capital murder charge with bond set at $1 million.

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3:25 p.m.

A man suspected of opening fire at an off-campus college party in Texas, killing two people and injuring 12 others, has been arrested.

Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks says 23-year-old Brandon Ray Gonzales was arrested Monday morning, less than 48 hours after the shooting outside Greenville, 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of a satellite campus of the Texas A&M University System.

Gonzales is jailed on a $1 million bond on a capital murder charge.

Authorities had said the shooter may have been targeting just one person at the party where about 750 people were gathered around midnight Saturday. The gunman escaped in the ensuing chaos.

Meeks has described the gathering as a Halloween and homecoming party for Texas A&M University-Commerce, though officials said it wasn't a school-sanctioned event.

Authorities have said that of the 12 injured, six were shot and six were trampled or hurt by glass.

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10:10 a.m.

Authorities are releasing the identities of the two men who were killed when a gunman opened fire at an off-campus college party in Texas.

The Hunt County Sheriff's Office said Monday that the two men killed were 23-year-old Kevin Berry Jr. of Dallas and 23-year-old Byron Craven Jr. of Arlington.

The suspected gunman, who hasn't been identified, remains on the loose after the shooting around midnight Saturday. Authorities believe the shooter may have been targeting just one person at the party of about 750 people outside Greenville, 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of a satellite campus of the Texas A&M University System.

Authorities said the gathering was a Halloween and homecoming party for Texas A&M University-Commerce, though officials said it was not a school-sanctioned event.

Authorities said that of the 12 people injured, six were shot and six were trampled or hurt by glass.

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6:50 a.m.

A suspected gunman remains on the loose after opening fire at an off-campus college party in Texas, leaving two people dead and 12 others injured.

The search continued Monday for the unidentified shooter that authorities believe may have been targeting just one person at the party of about 750 people outside Greenville, 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of a satellite campus of the Texas A&M University System. They say others may have been shot at random.

The shooting happened about midnight Saturday at what Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks described as a Halloween and homecoming party for Texas A&M University-Commerce. Officials said it was not a school-sanctioned event.

Authorities believe there was one male shooter who entered the venue through the back door and began firing with a handgun.

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This story has been updated to correct the suspect's last name to Gonzales instead of Gonzalez, and the last names of the victims to Berry instead of Barry, and Craven instead of Cravens.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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