Posted on 09/27/2013 11:51:07 AM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
Suspect says in jailhouse interview that he has been hearing voices and believed people were after him
Fort Worth police said the city "avoided a major tragedy" Tuesday night when a gunman tried to fire at least five shots inside crowded McDonald's restaurant but his pistol malfunctioned.
Surveillance video released late Thursday shows Jestin Anthony Joseph, 24, pulling the trigger several times while attempting to rob customers and employees, police said.
Incredibly, the gunman walked outside and fired his gun successfully in the air, police said. He walked back inside and tried to shoot again, but the gun again malfunctioned.
"I've never seen a video like this before," said Fort Worth police robbery detective Joe Loughman. "My gut feeling is the city of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth police department avoided a major tragedy on Tuesday night."
Joseph entered the McDonald's located at 4800 South Freeway in Fort Worth just after 9 p.m. and asked a cashier for a water cup, police said. He then walked over to the water fountain, where witnesses said he was mumbling to himself before showing his weapon.
"I walked into McDonald's, asked for water, went to the machine and, as soon as I did, dude said something to me. That's when I pulled the gun, and I lost it," Joseph told NBC DFW in a jailhouse interview Thursday afternoon.
Joseph, who said the gun was loaded but not cocked, said he had no plans to hurt anyone.
Joseph said he started hearing voices Sunday night and continues to hear them.
He said he has never been treated for mental illness.
Joseph added he was angry, believed people were after him, and had gone to the McDonald's to steal a car to get out of town.
Asked if there was a better way to handle his anger, he answered, "No."
The customers and employees were "severely traumatized" by the incident but the gunman was "calm" afterwards, Loughman said.
One customer tussled briefly with the gunman. An employee tried to reason with him -- even as the gun was pointed at his head, police said.
Patrol officers arrested him walking nearby without incident.
Joseph is being held in the Mansfield Jail on five charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. His bond is set at $500,000. Fort Worth contracts with Mansfield to hold inmates.
"I can't explain it," he said in his interview. "People are going to think I'm crazy. It's whatever."
NBC 5's Eric King contributed to this report.
“Witnesses say one woman dropped to her knees and began praying,”
Psalm 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
8 Just open your eyes,
and see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
16 I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”
>>>Since he did this in Texas, he’s probably lucky to be alive. I was really surprised that someone with a CCW did not end the incident with the perp going out on a slab.<<<
I hope you are right, but didn’t Aaron Alexis come from Texas and didn’t he get no punishment for a gun crime (albeit a far less serious one than this) in Texas?
In all seriousness this guy will probably do some real jail time (though not nearly enough). My point was that this guy has a striking similarity to Aaron Alexis, paronoia, hearing voices, threatening people with and shooting off guns, etc.
To me, this nut case demonstrates how insanely incompetent our government was in not only not locking up Alexis, but giving him secret clearance and military base access.
That’s a great idea. You ought to enter one of those invention contests. You could wind being the CEO of your own company.
If Holder’s people couldn’t fire a pistol sideways, they couldn’t fire one at all.
You are correct. Many of these psychiatric disorders are a result of using the new synthetic THC (Pot) designer drugs one time. They are real cheap and 7 times stronger than pot.
These are the same drugs used in bath salts and many other formats. I’ve attended the American Psychiatric Ass’n conferences on this and listened to the ER psychiatrists telling of their bizarre experiences dealing with people on these new drugs. It’s not a pretty picture.
My guess it was double action and the dumbass forgot to put one in the pipe.
Thanks Be To God. That particular Psalm has helped me many times.
Psalm 91 Bookmark.
His defense attorney: “He simply be jestin’”
I was thinking the same thing.
al & jessie would have come down on the CCW person and had him (or her) charged with murder. . . . . .
Surprised more blacks do not use revolvers.
The automatics seem a bit too hard for them to use properly.
Not due to anything the FW police department did.
I watched the video and although grainy it looked to me like a revolver. I was kinda wondering how a revolver can’t fire if you pull the trigger. Could be wrong tho. Any mention what kind of weapon the perp had?
I had a Bryco(Breako) Model 59. Blowback action on a 9 mm would destroy the trigger group. Could get it to fire intermittently.
Yeah, I wonder what the odds of that happening are. I could understand it if it happened in Austin.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.