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Gunman kills four in Sash
By Mary Madewell
The Paris News
Published August 29, 2005
SASH — A one-armed gunman went on a shooting spree Sunday night in this small community north of Honey Grove in Fannin County, killing four people.
The suspect turned a gun on himself early today, according to Paris Police Chief Karl Louis, a member of the SWAT team that surrounded the man's home throughout the night.
Dead are James Armstrong, pastor of Sash Assembly of God Church, and church member Wes Brown, according to a church member who witnessed the first two shootings.
In addition, the gunman killed two unidentified women, who a witness said were from Greenville. The women are believed to have stopped in the community to check on horses in a trailer they were pulling.
The women’s names, as well as that of the gunman, were not available at 10 a.m. today.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and the Fannin County Sheriff’s Department called the Paris Police Department Special Weapons and Tactics Unit after the man barricaded himself in his home across from the Sash Assembly of God Church on FM 100, where the shooting spree began about 9 p.m.
“He first drove up to the church in a pickup, and Wes asked him to go back home,” said Debbie Wolfe, 42, who along with her husband, Kenneth Wolfe, 46, ran through a wooded area to escape the gunfire.
“He went home and then walked back across to the church,” Debbie Wolfe said. “He walked up to Wes and pulled a pistol out from under a stub of an arm and shot him from about four or five feet away. Then, he slowly turned and shot Brother Armstrong.”
Wolfe continued her account.
“Kenneth hollered for us to run,” the wife said. “Brother Armstrong’s wife crouched down beside their travel trailer, and I know the man walked back and forth several times shooting. The Lord protected her.”
“My husband and I ran through the woods about a half mile to his grandmother’s house, where Kenny called 911,” Wolfe said. “I got tangled up in some briars and fell down.”
Wolfe said she lay in a ditch for awhile.
“We think he went back to his house and got a high-powered gun because we could hear him shooting for a long time,” Wolfe said.
“Kenny’s brother lives near the church,” Wolfe said. “The man pulled up in their drive and shot several times and also fired several shots at Jo’s Place, a local cafe.”
Wolfe said the man shot the women at the corner of FM 100 and FM 409.
“We heard gunshots just about all night long,” Wolfe continued. “We thought he was still out there somewhere until a helicopter with infrared lights came.”
Wolfe said police surrounded the man’s house and told everyone to stay back, blocking off all roads.
Louis said Paris officers arrived about midnight.
“We approached the house to gain entry about 1 a.m. but he shot at us as we approached,” Louis said. “We were able to take cover and sustained no injuries.”
Using normal procedures, Louis said officers used tear gas, but the man did not respond.
“We made entry about 5:30 a.m. this morning and found him dead in a bedroom,” Louis said. “He apparently had shot himself in the head. I reached down to make sure he did not have a pulse, and he was pretty stiff at that time.”
Louis said Paris officers then turned the scene back to Fannin County Sheriff’s Department.
“We did our part and got the scene cleared,” Louis said of the 10-member SWAT team. “The boys really did a good job and we are glad we could help our neighbors.”
Louis said law enforcement teams work together.
“They had a man on a killing spree and needed help,” Louis said. “Next time it might be us needing their assistance.”
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