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A victim of an attempted carjacking in DeSoto whose husband was killed in the May 15 incident told KDFW-TV (Channel 4) this week that she has “good days and bad days.”
Heather French, 29, was shot in her arm, while her husband, 34-year-old Randall “Scott” Thornhill, died after being shot in the driver’s seat of his 2008 Mazda 3. French’s 5-year-old son, Noah, was unharmed in the backseat.
Police arrested Evan McMaryion, 19, in Arizona and charged him with capital murder and assault with a deadly weapon. He is awaiting extradition.
The gunman “didn’t even ask for anything,” French told Channel 4. “He just started shooting.”
She said she recalled being shot in her shoulder but immediately turned her attention to her son.
“He saw it all happen,” she told the television station. “He already told me that he was sorry that daddy Scott had died.”
French said that though Thornhill was Noah’s stepdad, he treated him like a son, Channel 4 reported.
DeSoto has experienced a recent rash of gun violence over the last month. A 16-year-old was taken into custody in connection with the fatal shooting of a teenager in a car last month, and a 22-year-old man was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a man he mistakenly believed to have killed his younger brother, according to DeSoto police.
Police are also hoping to file criminal charges after someone opened fire on a crowd in Zeiger Park last month.
In March, McMaryion received three years’ probation and was fined $1,000 related to the theft and unauthorized use of a vehicle, according to court records.
DeSoto Police Chief Joe Costa and Mayor Rachel Proctor sought to reassure residents during a May 22 news conference that McMaryion’s arrest means police are doing their job.
“The community does have a lot of angst when it comes to that,” Proctor said. “But I want the community to know that DeSoto PD is working hard for them behind the scenes. It speaks to the good detective work and good police work they did.”