Tyler shooter had history of assault, violent threats (Tyler shooting additional information)

Tyler shooter had history of assault, violent threats By LISA FALKENBERG Associated Press

Police have identified David Hernandez Arroyo Sr., as the man with an assault rifle who opened fire in Tyler's historic town square Thursday killing two people.

Maribel Estrada may have heard her ex-husband's threats of violence in recent days, but acquaintances said she had little time to worry about them.

After the divorce last year, the 41-year-old single mother of three received no child support. She worked trimming steaks at a local meat-packing plant to support her family. She took her children's father to court Thursday, hoping the Texas attorney general's office could force him to pay.

But David Hernandez Arroyo Sr. had other plans. Donning a military flak jacket and bulletproof vest, he showed up at the Smith County Courthouse with an assault rifle and opened fire on the town square, killing Estrada and a bystander who shot back.

"She wouldn't have expected this to come," said Estrada's divorce attorney Joshua Wintters. "She was really a gentle, quiet woman. Her main concerns in life were meeting the bills and seeing to her kids. It was more like she didn't have time to think about this."

Arroyo, 43, was finally gunned down by lawmen, but only after wounding four people using an AK-47, including three law officers and his own son, David Hernandez Arroyo Jr. The 21-year-old was shot in the legs and was in fair condition today.

The couple divorced after 22 years of marriage. Wintters said Arroyo ignored the divorce petition and became furious when he received the final decree.

"He kind of threw a fit and yelled at me some in a very profane way and I asked him to leave," Wintters said. "He would call us and you'd get messages from him: 'This ain't right. I'm not dealing with this anymore.'"

Wintters said Arroyo threatened him, but he thought it was emotion talking. He said he doesn't believe Estrada knew she was in danger.

"She really was one of the nicest women I've met, had a good heart," Wintters said. "Whenever he would express concern that she was going off and going to be with another man, she kind of laughed and said that's the last thing on her mind."

Her eldest son helped her support his two younger siblings, a teenager and a 9-year-old child, Wintters said.

The son "kind of acted as a mediator and kept the peace, except that he wouldn't back down from protecting the mother," Wintters said.

The 21-year-old stepped between his parents as they argued last year, and the ensuing altercation led to the elder Arroyo's conviction on a misdemeanor assault charge, Wintters said.

According to court records, the father was sentenced Feb. 2 to nine months probation but received deferred adjudication, meaning his record would have been cleared if he hadn't committed any crimes during that period.

Attorney Thad Davidson, who represented Arroyo, said his client pleaded no-contest to the assault charge and considered the plea bargain a victory because it did not affect his visitation rights with his 9-year-old son.

Davidson also said the boy had refuted claims by his mother and older brother that Arroyo had assaulted her, but that prosecutors refused to investigate the boy's statements.

"I did everything I could short of raise a red flag to indicate there were deeper, more significant issues in this case than a simple assault," Davidson said. "Although I abhor and am shocked by what happened ... what he did was the culmination of a series of events that put him at the end of a very dark road."

Wintters would not say why Estrada sought a divorce. He said she never claimed in court that Arroyo abused her or her children.

But Gene Decker, the meat plant manager, who is related to Arroyo through marriage, said he believes abuse compelled Estrada to seek a divorce.

"I know that she wouldn't have left him if he hadn't of been abusive," he said. "Knowing her and knowing him, I know that he forced it with his behavior."

Decker said Arroyo was known around town as a kind of "macho man," who drank, flaunted his guns and was rough with women.

"He's that kind of guy and he got his just reward," Decker said. "I just hate that other people had to get mixed up in it."

Family and acquaintances of the elder Arroyo said he was grieving over his mother's death just last week and upset over a custody dispute involving his and Estrada's youngest child.

"The only thing he wanted was to get his child custody. That's all he wanted," Marie Avelar, Arroyo's niece, told Dallas station WFAA-TV. "He was the sweetest person. ... I never see him mad, he always had a smile on his face."

Samuel Hernandez, whose sister lived near Arroyo, said he seemed like a caring father.

"I know one thing: he really loved that little boy," Hernandez told the Tyler Morning-Telegraph for today's editions. "He would always go everywhere with him."

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"He hated his ex-wife and he thought his oldest son was a traitor," said Thad Davidson, Arroyo's criminal attorney. Davidson says after months of disagreements between Arroyo and his ex-wife, Arroyo may have snapped.

"He felt like he had no voice, he felt like in my opinion, he had no hope," said Davidson.

No hope that he'd ever get full custody of his youngest son or be able to pay his 240 dollar a month child support.

"At the time of the divorce and until yesterday, Mr. Arroyo was unemployed. He was receiving approximately 800 dollars a month in disability," said Arroyo's Child Support Attorney Peter Milne.

Arroyo's niece Maria Avelar says his inability to pay child support or have custody of his 9 year old son, upset him deeply.

"He was everything to him," said Maria.

Maria told me, Arroyo feared he was going to be put in jail yesterday after his child support hearing because of his inability to pay. His court appointed child support attorney says that was possible. Maria says Arroyo would have rather chosen death over being put in jail because of his ex-wife.

"I think what was going through his mind was, 'ok I am going to do this.' This is what a Hispanic man would think. I am going to kill her and I know I am not going to be alive from there, so I am going to do what I can. I am going to try to get away," said Maria.

"Then why wear the body armor?"

"It was only on his chest, his head was free. Other parts of his body was free," says Maria indicating police could have killed him even though he was wearing body armor.

Attorney Peter Milne confirms Arroyo's behavior was unusual. He spoke with Arroyo just hours before the shooting.

"Mr. Aroyo seemed very agitated and upset when he spoke with me yesterday. He was angry, upset, but he was kind of distant. The best word I can use is disconnected," said Milne.

Milne only spoke with Arroyo on the phone and said that Arroyo had skipped a scheduled meeting before the child support hearing. Milne says he never thought arroyo would be violent. Earlier this month, Arroyo was put on probation for assault. He was given deferred adjudication and a $200 fine. According to court documents, he struck Marible with his fist. However, Arroyo's attorney says that assault never happened. According to the district attorney's office, Marible also told members of the DA's Victims Services Division that her ex-husband had made threats against her, her son and every member of her family. Maribel was told to report the threats to police, but Tyler police records show Marible did not report the case.

Michelle Mortensen, Reporting.

" I didn't know all hispanic guys thought that way."

Not to justify this terrible thing in the slightest, but, you know, I have been through "family court", the divorce, custody, visitation and child support nightmare. I don't know much about this guy, but I know that the process can be pretty bad.

I really don't understand why more people who have to deal with this insanity don't go bananas. I think the 5,999,975 men that go through this nightmare every year without blowing their tops deserve more credit than the "bad dad" mythology blathered by the MSM.

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