DALLAS — The man accused of shooting an army veteran in Dallas on December 20th has also been named as a suspect in a Balch Springs shooting that happened only 5 days later, investigators confirmed to WFAA.
Corey Antwon Thompson was on the run for a week before he was arrested Tuesday for shooting Roderick Butler to death in Uptown.
"Just a senseless violence has taken him away from our family," Butler's cousin, Michael Music, told WFAA Friday night at a vigil.
Thompson is now also a murder suspect in another case. Five days after Butler was killed in Uptown, 28-year-old Francisco Jesus Manriquez was also killed, at random, in Balch Springs.
The 28-year-old, according to investigators there, was attacked in his car as he dropped his girlfriend off at her house. He was also shot in the face and throat.
"We know they did not know each other...We just know that it was an unfortunate incident that occurred. You know, hate to say it, but the wrong place at the wrong time…" Balch Springs Officer Pedro Gonzalez told WFAA.
Manriquez had just completed his GED, according to his family. He leaves behind his 3 daughters, 11, 8, and 6 years old.
Investigators linked Thompson to his murder, Gonzalez said, when they spotted his White Lincoln SUV at the scene. That's the same vehicle Dallas Police identified in their investigation.
"There was also a similar incident in Rowlett," he said.
Rowlett Police are now working with Balch Springs on another shooting investigation. Investigators there say they don’t have the evidence to tie Thompson directly to it. But the suspect in that shooting – which also happened while Thompson was on the run, was also driving a White Lincoln SUV.
Thompson is only a suspect in Manriquez's case, he hasn't yet been charged. Investigators are waiting for ballistic evidence to come back.