Lampasas County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a 57-year-old man after his stepson reportedly shot him in a domestic dispute.
LCSO deputies responded to the 2100 block of County Road 3790 to a report of a shooting on Thursday afternoon at 1:34 p.m.
The caller, identified by authorities as Alex Shahan Hyatt, 28, told deputies that his stepfather -- identified as 57-year-old William Darrell Crain -- had arrived at the residence armed with two handguns, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol, holstered on his hip.
“The stepfather allegedly made threats against Hyatt and his mother, who was not at the residence at this time,” LCSO said in a statement about the incident.
According to the LCSO statement, Crain and Hyatt’s mother had divorced recently.
“Hyatt alleged Crain was mentally unstable and threatened to shoot himself and Hyatt,” authorities said in the news release. “Hyatt attempted to deescalate Crain’s violent threatening behavior and stated he was in fear for his life and his mother’s life.
“Crain turned at the doorway and accidentally dropped the 9mm semi-auto pistol he had in his hand at the time,” the statement continued. “Hyatt then reached into his nightstand by his bed and retrieved his personal 9mm semi-auto pistol and fired twice at Crain, striking Crain in the back and armpit area as Crain was bending over to pick up the weapon he had dropped. Crain immediately fell to the floor.”
After Hyatt called 911 to report the incident, authorities instructed him to wait for deputies to arrive.
Hyatt told deputies he secured all the weapons, including those belonging to Crain. Hyatt said he attempted to administer life-saving measures to Crain but was unable to resuscitate him.
When deputies arrived at the scene at approximately 1:49 p.m., they found Hyatt unarmed and sitting outside the residence. In addition to Lampasas County Sheriff’s Office investigators, the Texas DPS Rangers Division and Hamilton County EMS also responded to the scene.
Justice of the Peace Dan Hause pronounced Crain dead at the scene. LCSO officials and the Texas Rangers processed the crime scene and collected evidence.
In addition to the three handguns involved in the incident, more firearms and other supplies were found in Crain’s pickup truck, including “an AR-15 styled rifle, a shotgun rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, another 9mm semi-auto pistol, leg irons, handcuffs and enough food for a couple of weeks,” authorities said.
Hyatt was transported to the Lampasas County Sheriff’s Office where he was interviewed and provided a statement. He was released pending further investigation.
Crain’s body was transported to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science in Dallas for an autopsy. All preliminary findings indicated Crain had been shot twice, and the path of the projectiles were consistent with Crain bending over when shot, LCSO officials said.
The investigation is on-going, and more information will be provided as it becomes available.