Man charged with murder after reportedly shooting victim during son’s drop-off

HAWKINS — According to our news partner KETK, an East Texas man has been arrested for murder after he allegedly shot and killed another man while dropping off his son with the son’s mother. Witnesses say the man was carrying his son during the shooting.

On Friday at around 11:52 a.m., Texas Rangers arrived to the scene of a shooting in the 1000 block of N. Beaulah Street where they found a man laying in the dirt driveway with a white sheet covering him. When the Hawkins Police Department arrived to the scene prior to the Texas Rangers, they found a man, later identified as Shawn Moore, standing in the driveway with a black handgun in his holster.

The police department was then able to remove the handgun and detained him. EMS then checked on the victim, identified as Mitchell Wayne Palmer, who was dead. Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Jerry Parker then officially pronounced Palmer dead at 11:58 a.m. Texas Rangers observed the victim to have two entry wounds in his chest and another wound over his right collarbone.

Six silver spent shell casings were found near the ground where the victim lay. The casings, according to the affidavit, matched the 9mm cartridges that remained in the handgun retrieved from Moore.
Texarkana man arrested after hit-and-run sends man to hospital

“A witness from across the street stated he observed a while male, Moore, draw a handgun from a holster on his person and shoot the victim, Palmer, at close range,” the affidavit stated. “The witness identified Moore from a Texas Driver License photo shown to him.”

After being transported to the Wood County Sheriff’s Office Jail, Rangers conducted an interview where Moore said he had went to the location to drop off his son with the son’s mother.

“Moore told [the Texas Ranger] he and Palmer exchanged words. Moore told me he thought Palmer was coming at him with a small knife, so Moore drew his handgun from the holster on his right hip and fired an unknown number of rounds towards Palmer. Moore fired his handgun while holding his son with his left arm.”

However, witness testimony did not reveal a knife being used during the altercation and officials did not recover a knife from the scene.

Moore was arrested for murder on Friday and is currently being held on a $1 million bond at the Wood County Jail.