Posted on 06/11/2006 12:02:34 PM PDT by WestTexasWend
DALLAS — A Naval chief petty officer home on leave from the Middle East was shot and killed by a carjacker just three days before he was to report back for duty.
Kameron Pratt, scheduled to return after minor shoulder surgery, was shot by an unidentified carjacker who dragged him from his pickup truck at his parents' home in Dallas on Friday night.
Pratt, 34, stumbled to the porch. His brother, Keanon, found him semiconscious, dialed 911 and performed CPR. Paramedics transported Pratt to the hospital but he died shortly after arrival.
The chief petty officer had been savoring two weeks' leave during his fourth overseas tour of duty in four years — most recently serving in the Middle East aboard the USS George Washington. He left behind a 9-month-old daughter, Lailah.
"You think of how many times he's probably escaped death out there in all the places he's been," his younger brother, Kebreon Pratt, said Saturday. "And here he is — home — just trying to spend time with his baby. He was on cloud nine. And then this happens."
Relatives said Kameron Pratt would have completed his active-duty assignment in October. He had hoped to complete a college degree, teach social studies and coach sports in the Dallas school district. He liked sports and loved children, family members said.
About five years ago, the former football player and amateur boxer decided the Navy would help him earn a good salary and enlisted at age 30, 12 years after he passed up an opportunity to enter the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., relatives said.
"I felt it was a positive move for him," Keanon Pratt said. "And I was proud. Really proud."
Police said the carjacking appeared to be random. Two men in a gold Chevrolet pickup pulled up next to Kameron Pratt's Ford F-150 pickup, Dallas police Sgt. Gil Cerda said.
Pratt was parked in the driveway of his parents' home. One of the men, wielding a gun, ordered Kameron Pratt out of his truck before shooting him and stealing the pickup, Cerda said.
Police were investigating but no arrests had been made.
Close-knit relatives mourned Saturday and said they were struggling to come to terms with the death of a man they called "the life of the party" and "happy-go-lucky."
"But he could be quiet and very observant," said the victim's father, Leon Pratt Jr. "He could be very analytical. Most of all, he loved his family, and he loved his friends."
Joining you in those prayers and hopes.
Thanks for the photo, sir...Statesman.com didn't have it.
As you're aware, we know what to do with them once they're convicted. The membership roster in the Greater Huntsville Flatliners' Club will add yet more inductees. Some never learn. We honor him for his service to our Country. May his family be comforted in their sorrow and may he rest in peace.
This is so sad. I hopw they catch those murders fast and administer justice.
Eternal rest, sailor.
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/DN-carjacking_11met.ART.State.Edition2.9014117.html
Then Friday night, three days before Mr. Pratt was to report for duty again after minor shoulder surgery, an unidentified carjacker shot him after dragging him from his pickup at his parents' home in Dallas' Red Bird area.
Mr. Pratt stumbled to the porch of the home, where his family has lived for about 30 years.
It was there, in a manicured neighborhood where some folks still leave their doors unlocked at night, that his older brother, Keanon Pratt, found him semiconscious.
Keanon Pratt said he dialed 911. He performed CPR. He cradled his brother.
Kameron Pratt tried to speak. But blood pooling in his mouth prevented it. Paramedics arrived and rushed him to the hospital.
And minutes later, he died.
-snip-
In what appears to be a random carjacking, two men in a gold Chevrolet pickup pulled up next to Kameron Pratt's Ford F-150 pickup, Dallas police Sgt. Gil Cerda said Saturday. Mr. Pratt was parked in the driveway of his parents' home in the 6100 block of Lake Placid Drive.
One of the men, wielding a gun, ordered Kameron Pratt out of his truck before shooting him and stealing the pickup, Sgt. Cerda said. Police were investigating, and the men were still at large late Saturday, he said.
When they catch this scumbag, a few minutes with the family may be in order so they can discuss this incident with him..it would save the cost of a trial and subsequent incarceration...
Prayers to him and his family..
If not,I hope there's an Executive Order or Congressional resolution.
RIP hero.
What a damn shame.
Find these thugs and put a bullet in their heads.
Killing a soldier should carry the same penalties as killing a cop.
Both are worthy.
My father was a five year Chief. Enlisted in 1939, made Chief in '44.
BTTT
Prayers to this brave man. God rest his soul.
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