Security Company Disputes Smith County Sherriff’s Claims In Trail Ride Shooting
We continue to monitor the fallout from this past weekend's events at a trail ride in Winona, TX where 5 people were shot and taken to local hospitals. The Smith County Sheriff's Office has been releasing details about the incident but we received a phone call from a member of the security team who was present the night of the incident and he is disputing some of the claims being made by Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith.
According to KETK, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith gave new details on Monday In A Press Conference.
Sheriff Smith said in a press conference on Monday that his office, the fire marshal’s office and the district attorney’s office will be going after the organizers of the event with “any civil lawsuit, as well as any criminal enforcement.” Smith also shared an update about the victims, 4 victims have been treated and released while only one victim still remains in the hospital and is reportedly in critical but stable condition.
Smith also alleges that when law enforcement arrived on scene, the event organizers and security were gone.
In the presser Smith also alleges, that they have not been in contact with any of the organizers, nor have they located any of them. He further stated that no permit was filed for the event and that, as far as officials know, the organizers did not have permission to use the property that they were on. However, Smith emphasized that anyone who was only attending the event, excluding the shooters, will not face any charges and is encouraged to assist law enforcement with the investigation by calling the sheriff’s office at 903-566-6600.
But A Member Of The Security Team For The Trail Ride Disputes The Sheriff's Claims
We received a phone call on Monday afternoon from a gentleman who's name we will not mention, that claimed to have worked for Diamond Elite Security out of Louisiana, the security company that was at the event.
Our source claims that the organizers and security company remained on scene after the shooting and have cooperated fully with Smith County investigators. He also claims that they have been in contact with them regarding what happened mentioning that he spoke with detectives before contacting us.
He also disputes the Sheriff's claim that a "permit" was filed and that trail ride organizers did not have permission to use the property as the Sheriff claims. Take a listen to the interview below on The Melz On The MIC Podcast.
Is The Smith County Sheriff Attempting To Get "Trail Rides" Banned In The County?
Despite the rise in violence at trail rides over recent years, a MAJORITY of them have been peaceful. There are some who believe that Sherriff Smith is using this incident as a way to get trail rides in the county banned.
“I can look back at least two years from now, down in mount enterprise, two killed in Waskom here a few weeks ago, which started at Liberty City. We’ve had trail rides here off of county roads in Smith County, everywhere you can follow… there’s violence,”
The following statement is MY OPINION: Trail rides aren't the problem, its the easy access to firearms in U.S. and especially in Texas where anybody trained or not is allowed to carry a gun. As a gun owner myself, I've seen first hand how allowing an undisciplined populace to have access to deadly weapons, especially young people, can lead to trouble.
But Its time to have this conversation: Should trail rides be banned in Smith County or should the County take a different approach when it comes to these events?