Longtime DART bus driver shot dead outside his Lancaster home
LANCASTER, Texas - A longtime DART bus driver is dead, and his family says they have no clues as to who murdered him or why.
Larry Hearn, 60, was found shot to death in front of his Lancaster home Tuesday morning. Police have not named any suspects, but his family says it didn't appear to be a robbery.
Several family members talked with detectives at length to try to help them figure it out. Right now, police say they do not know what happened in the moments leading up to this shooting.
SKY 4 was overhead as crime tape blocked off the Pennsylvania Avenue home in the quiet Lancaster neighborhood. Police went to the home around 10 a.m. after a neighbor heard gunfire and looked out to see Hearn lying with a single gunshot wound in his front yard.
Titus Smith is Hearn's brother-in-law.
“I got a phone call from one of the DART dispatch supervisors because he had worked for DART, stating that he had been shot,” Smith said.
Paramedics rushed Hearn by ambulance, but he was pronounced dead at a hospital. His family says he lived at the home alone since his wife passed away a few years ago. He had worked for DART since 2003.
In a statement, DART said: "All of us at DART are saddened by this news. We are making grief counseling services available to his colleagues. We extend our sympathy to his family."
Smith says Hearn was happy and friendly yet quiet. Smith had just seen Hearn at church as he does every Sunday.
“He was happy. We had a raffle giveaway and he was the winner,” Smith said. “He won two recliner chairs, and he was very excited and happy about that.”
While family members initially suspected robbery, they say whoever did this did not steal Hearn's car nor any personal belongings. They are left wondering what was the motive behind his murder.
“We just have the question: Why? Until we get answers, we'll always have that question,” Smith said. “Everything was fine. Then we get this news today. You never know.”
Lancaster PD is urging anyone with information to contact Lancaster detectives.