Motive in shooting of TV meteorologist remains mystery

BRUCEVILLE-EDDY, Texas — If authorities know a motive behind the shooting of a meteorologist in his TV station's parking lot earlier this week, they're keeping close lipped.

Was Patrick Crawford, 35, specifically targeted? Did the shooter have a beef with the station? Did the KCEN-TV weatherman thwart a potential carjacking? Or was his gunman a transient taking advantage of the station's easy access to Interstate 35 along a frontage road?

Crawford told investigators that he didn't recognize the shooter, and the Texas Department of Public safety was offering no clues when it released a sketch of the man they say fired at Crawford 11 times with a semi-automatic handgun Wednesday as the morning show meteorologist was leaving the station, owned by Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI), after his shift. The 30- to 35-year-old white or Hispanic man approached, argued with Crawford, pulled out his gun and fired at close range.

"The guy was meaning business with that many rounds fired at that vehicle," said Trooper D.L. Wilson, Texas Department of Safety spokesman. "There is a lot of disturbed people in the world right now. So is this a secluded incident? It could be, but we're going to follow all the leads."

Falls County Crime Stoppers kicked in a reward of up to $5,000 Friday for the arrest and conviction of the man who shot Crawford.

"They're beating the neighborhoods. They're going to the convenience stores, looking at surveillance tapes," Wilson said of the officers looking for the suspect, who remains at large. "We've pulled off the search because we don't believe that the shooter is still in the area."

Crawford was shot in the stomach and shoulder and a bullet grazed his head, but he managed to drive off along the I-35 frontage road. He stopped his car near construction workers who offered aid and called for help.

"He had injuries that were significant but weren't particularly life threatening, but they needed to be dealt with," said Dr. Matthew Davis at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, where Crawford was transported for surgery.

Crawford is recovering and will be in the hospital for the next several days, Davis said.

Meanwhile residents here in Bruceville-Eddy, a community of about 1,500 people about 75 miles north of Austin, are being vigilant and keeping their doors locked.

"Of course, you're worried that there's someone (out there) that's not in their right mind that's willing to commit that type of a violent crime," resident Cathy Patterson said. "But I'm not scared."

And just in case the shooter revisits the scene of the crime, troopers will be on patrol outside the station 24 hours a day for the next week or two.

Contributing: Chris Davis, KCEN-TV, Waco-Temple-College Station, Texas