Alleged Dyer Street Shooter Was A Homeless Veteran
New details have emerged on Sunday morning’s soldier shooting on Dyer street, which left one military man dead, two others injured and another behind bars.
Police say shots were fired in the air before the fatal shots being fired. ABC-7 also learned that the alleged shooter, 29-year-old Craig Graham, is a homeless veteran of the Marine Corps, who recently returned from a tour in Iraq.
“We currently have a caseload of about 63 or 65 homeless veterans,” said Chet Frame, Director of the Excel Learning Center’s Homeless Veteran’s Program, which had been working with the alleged shooter. “He had just started back into the re-integration program.”
Frame offered few details about Graham’s situation, except to say that 150 to 180 military veterans a day are leaving the post.
“What I can tell you is, he’s not alone and unfortunately we are probably going to have others that won’t be successful in re-integrating and that’s really unfortunate,” Frame said. “But every war has created a group that didn’t fit back in.”
According to the police affidavit, witnesses say a group of men were standing on the corner at Dyer and Tyler streets when one of them fired several gunshots into the air. That’s when Graham, standing in the back parking lot of club fusion, fired, hitting the men on the corner, killing one and injuring two others.
“We are praying for their justice and their family,” said the owner of Club Fussion, who is devastated by what happened outside his club, but did not want to give his name. “None of my employees saw what happened that I know.”
Across the street, Lourdes Phillips, whose father owns American and European Automotive, said she’s scared.
“The problem has always been over there,” Phillips said. “There’s been fighting and other stuff that could be taken out of hand, like the other day.”
Police say they are still working with potential witnesses in the case. None of the three victims has been identified at this point, but ABC-7 did receive a release from Fort Bliss on Tuesday stating that the victims will be identified on Wednesday and post commander Gen. Dana Pittard will address the shooting.
