Man Charged With Having Gun At Scene Of Mass Shooting Was Baylor Graduate Who Afterward "Gravitated To The Streets"

  • Thursday, June 9, 2022

A man who is charged with having a gun at the scene of a mass shooting on McCallie Avenue is a Baylor School graduate who afterward "gravitated to the streets."

Garrian King was on the football team at Baylor.

A few years after his graduation he was among those charged with setting off firecrackers inside Hamilton Place Mall to cover up a robbery. King got a three-year sentence in that case.

In the state case he was charged with three counts of possession of marijuana for resale, reckless endangerment, domestic assault, possession of a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, possession of a firearm with a felony drug conviction and disorderly conduct.

Several people were injured in the ensuing panic at the mall on the day after Christmas 2016.

Police said those involved in the plot carried off about $1,000 in merchandise from The Pink Store. The firecrackers caused some $2,000 in damage to the floor of the store.

The arrest report notes that police and security as well as patrons and employees at the mall initially thought a shooting was taking place and there was an "active shooter" on the loose.

The arrests were made after police studied numerous videos of the frightening incident. 

Judge Curtis Collier at King's sentence noted he had the opportunity to study at "one of the top schools in the state, then he had some college."

He recommended that King study the book Down These Mean Streets during his time in prison.

Prosecutor Chris Poole, who is also handling the McCallie Avenue incident, said in 2016 that King had been involved in three different violent episodes. He said King discharged a gun in the last incident.

He said King is addicted to marijuana and uses it daily.

His earlier federal sentence related to an Oct. 28, 2016, traffic stop in which ammunition was found in his vehicle. 

 

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