A man accused of opening fire at the State Fair of Texas on Saturday is claiming he acted in self-defense.
Cameron Turner, a 22-year-old, is currently being held in the Dallas County jail on a $1.5 million bond over three charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, Turner was apprehended by Dallas police shortly after shots rang out at the fair, prompting an evacuation order. The incident occurred shortly before 8 p.m. and resulted in three victims — two adult males and one adult female. All three were hospitalized and were last reported to be in stable condition.
Speaking to investigators, Turner claimed his actions were in self-defense following an encounter with a menacing “group of big males” that sent him “into survival mode,” according to CBS News.
Although he told investigators he was “attempting to protect his family,” as stated in the arrest warrant, surveillance footage from the food court indicated he was alone buying a bottle of water when the group approached him.
Police claim several men could be seen approaching Turner in the video, with one stopping to speak with him. Although “nothing was in the [man’s] hand … nor did he reach for anything,” Turner allegedly reacted by pulling out a gun and firing at him.
The male victim in question has opted not to contribute to the ongoing police investigation, reported CBS News.
Although the video footage reportedly conflicts with Turner’s version of events, self-defense is a protected right in Texas if the use of force is justified. However, the reckless injury of an innocent third party is not.
The fairgrounds are located just east of Downtown in Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7. The district has seen the most incidents of assault logged by the City of Dallas since the start of the year. As indicated in the City of Dallas crime overview dashboard, District 7 had 2,423 assaults logged as of October 17. In total, 20,944 incidents of assault were racked up citywide.
As recently reported by The Dallas Express, WalletHub ranked it as one of the worst U.S. cities in terms of home and community safety. Similarly, a study comparing Downtown Dallas to Fort Worth’s downtown area found significantly higher crime rates in the former. The latter is reportedly patrolled by a special neighborhood police unit and private security officers.