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Odd Texas Shooting Spree Overnight Leaves 4 Dead: How the Shooter Apparently Tried to Hide in Plain Sight
A law enforcement officer checks a car as he works the scene of a fatal shooting early Thursday morning, Aug. 8, 2013, in DeSoto, Texas. Four people were killed at two different locations in South Dallas County and the suspected shooter is in police custody. Credit: AP

Odd Texas Shooting Spree Overnight Leaves 4 Dead: How the Shooter Apparently Tried to Hide in Plain Sight

"Her door was open, the car was open, evidently they were trying to get away."

Two separate, but related, shootings on Wednesday night left at least four people dead and four additional individuals wounded. One of the incidents took place in Dallas and another in nearby DeSoto, KXAS-TV reports. The assailant allegedly attempted to get away with the crime by pretending to be one of the victims.

Details are still emerging, but some of the victims' family members have spoken out and confirmed the identities of two of the deceased. Lurlean Smith told media that her daughter, Toya Smith, 43, and her granddaughter, Tasmia Allen, 17, were killed in the Dallas shooting.

A law enforcement officer checks a car as he works the scene of a fatal shooting early Thursday morning, Aug. 8, 2013, in DeSoto, Texas. Four people were killed at two different locations in South Dallas County and the suspected shooter is in police custody. Credit: AP

Her 14-year-old grandson, Storm Malone, was also shot and is being treated. The fourth individual injured was a friend of Tasmia's who is also 17 years of age; the teen's condition is currently unknown.

After speaking with her daughter just minutes before the Dallas shooting, Smith said she could sense something was wrong. So, she went to the house and discovered carnage. The grieving mother told KXAS-TV that it appeared as though the victims were trying to escape their attacker.

"Her door was open, the car was open, evidently they were trying to get away," Smith told the outlet.

WFAA-TV is reporting that the suspect in police custody is a man named Erbie Bowser (while some reports say that he is Toya Smith's boyfriend or ex-boyfriend, others claim that his ex-girlfriend merely owned the home and was not there at the time of the shooting).

This outlet reports that he took Malone with him to the second home -- one that is apparently owned by his ex-wife, according to Smith's family, who has not been identified. There, he purportedly threw an explosive to gain entry to the property and, after it detonated, he continued his shooting spree.

Neighbors also reported hearing a bomb go off. While two individuals were also killed at the second scene, two children survived. The Associated Press reports that the boys, ages 11 and 13, were wounded; their conditions are also currently unknown.

The FBI and ATF were on scene, along with local authorities. Police responded to the first shooting around 10:30 CT and the second around 10:45 CT.

Bowser was arrested by police at the scene of the second shooting after reportedly running out of ammunition. Some sources claim he initially tried to pretend that he was one of the wounded -- a plan that, if true, obviously failed. He is said to be "former military" and a former Dallas Mavericks ManiAAc dancer.

"Reports say that when the suspect was arrested he kept repeating his name, rank and serial number. He also reportedly has tattoos identifying him as being in the military," the Daily Mail adds.

Stay tuned for additional information.

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