A man arrested for the murder of an Army veteran in Uptown Dallas, last week is now suspected in at least two other shootings while on the run. Corey Antwon Thompson, 45, who has previously been convicted of violent crimes, was taken into custody for the fatal shooting of 46-year-old Roderick Butler on December 20, as reported by FOX 4 News.
On Christmas morning, Thompson's white Lincoln SUV allegedly approached a vehicle and opened fire, killing Francisco Jesus Manriquez with multiple headshots and narrowly missing a female passenger who ducked to avoid the bullets. Balch Springs Police Department spokesperson Pedro Gonzalez said, "It was just a random shooting." In an earlier shooting, Butler was gunned down outside of a Wells Fargo bank branch in Uptown, where he was regarded as a familiar face by locals. Employees in the area recalled Butler was often seen walking or sitting on a bench with bags nearby, according to CBS News.
Butler's family has described him as a kind individual, struggling with mental health issues but harmless, his mother insisting her son did not bank at the location where he was killed. While Thompson's motives remain unclear, Dallas police did not disclose what specifically led them to identify him as the suspect in Butler's murder. He was arrested six days after the incident in West Dallas and is currently held on a $1.25 million bond.
Authorities are waiting for ballistic evidence to confirm the link between Thompson, the Christmas morning killing in Balch Springs, and another shooting in Rowlett that involved a similar vehicle description, though thankfully the Rowlett victim was not injured. Thompson, who has an extensive criminal record and was out on bond for unrelated charges at the time of the recent shootings, is now being held without bond. Balch Springs police have been collaborating with Rowlett police on the investigation, while additional charges against Thompson could be filed soon, as per FOX 4 News.
