Man charged in shooting outside Georgia Street Hastings store
March 17, 2014
By Jim McBride
An Amarillo man was arrested Sunday on an aggravated assault charge after police said he allegedly shot another man in the hand Sunday night, police said Monday.
About 10 p.m. Sunday, an off-duty Amarillo police officer learned that a patient had arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his hand. The officer contacted the victim, a 26-year-old man who said he went to the Hastings Entertainment store at Wolflin Avenue and Georgia Street and was approached by another man with a notebook in his hand.
The victim told police the man reached in his pocket and pulled out a firearm. The victim said he threw his hands up in a defensive fashion and the shooter fired a single round at him, striking him in the hand, Amarillo police said.
The shooter then took off and ran from the parking lot. The victim and his girlfriend left Hastings and went to an Amarillo hospital, and Amarillo police broadcast a description of the shooter.
Field officers recognized the shooter from the description and knew of a possible address where he could be located.
Officers went to an unidentified apartment and located the suspect, who consented to a search of his apartment and was taken to Amarillo Police Department for questioning.
The suspect, Derrick James Mason, 24, was arrested and booked into Potter County jail on a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said.
The victim was treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening, Amarillo police said Monday.
Jim McBride can be reached at 806-345-3354 or [email protected].
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