SHOTS FIRED

February 15, 2011 - 12:00am
Finley comes in our room, wide awake. She was complaining about a loud noise to Kristen and I realized that I could hear it, too.

I got out of bed and walked to the window in our bedroom facing out onto the back yard. On the other side of the neighborhood, I get see flashing blue & red lights and could hear something loud, like a large truck or helicopter. Through the houses, I saw one police car pass...then another...then another...they just kept coming.

I moved to the front of the house, wondering why there would be so many police cars. By the time I got to a front window, I could see a convoy of cars on our street. I threw on my shoes and stepped out, hoping to possibly stop and officer to find out what was going on. By the time I got out there, they had made another turn around the street.

I saw a neighbor across the street and asked what was going on. She didn't know. The guy across from us walked out and said that the police cars had followed a car around our neighborhood at least twice while he watched. He mentioned the car had a flat tire and he wondered (quite loudly) why they hadn't pulled the car over.

We stood outside, seeing the reflection of the lights on the other street when all of the sudden there was a loud sound as if the first car had taken off. Not wanting to be there in case a car chase broke out on my street, I started heading back toward the house. Before I got there, though, I could hear the cars on 2493, the main road at the entrance of our neighborhood.

Suddenly, I could hear dozens of men shouting "get out of the car, now!" in panicked voices. I stood there a second and then heard 7-10 gunshots.

And that's when I ran into the house. Doors locked, security alarm on, I paced like crazy.

Kristen I tried to search online for any info. We eventually found an online police scanner for Smith County. After about twenty minutes of garbled info, we heard an officer report that the "scene at Southern Trace" was being cleared.

I'll be honest...I was shaken up by it. Took me awhile to go back to sleep. A dude shouldn't ever hear a gunfight in his neighborhood, you know?

February 16, 2011 - 8:30am
Finally find a short blurb at a new site giving a brief recap of the car chase. When I drove out of the neighborhood, I saw a neighbor picking trash out of his yard. Across the street, I see an investigator taking pictures of wreckage at the entrance of our subdivision. He tells me what he saw, we talk a minute.

Later in the morning, I find this from kltv.com.

SMITH COUNTY, TX (KLTV)- An overnight police chase ended with the suspect jailed.

The Department of Public Safety confirms they assisted Smith County Sheriff's deputies in a pursuit that began shortly after midnight.

The chase happened near the intersection of State Highway 155 and FM 2661 in the Flint area when the driver of a blue Oldsmobile initiated the pursuit.

The driver, Brian Wessley Dowdle, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault against a public servant. Smith County jail records indicate he has since been released.

It's unclear what motivated the chase. Check back to kltv.com for more details as they become available.