Man admits to ‘poor judgment' for firing gun in air during car stunts

A man who fired a gun in the air while cars stunted behind him in Pleasant Grove says he used poor judgment.

Eric Richardson, 29, said in a jailhouse interview Wednesday the 9mm handgun he shot into the air was the gun his company gave him for his duties as a security guard.

FOX4 first aired on Tuesday video showing several people involved in dangerous driving and random gunfire Sunday night in a Pleasant Grove parking lot.

"This was a typical Sunday night in Pleasant Grove," Richardson said.

Richardson says the man seen shooting into the air in the Facebook video is not him, but he does admit to shooting his company-issued 9mm pistol into the air. Richardson says he works as an armed security guard and he only after hearing other gunshots did he start shooting.

"I admit to my wrongdoing, I was wrong. I wasn't thinking, I was being dumb," Richardson said. "If I, I ultimately made a mistake and I apologize to whoever I made scared or whatever that was out there that night that I made scared."

Richardson said he's a member of a North Texas car club and uses his used white former police Crown Victoria to stunt.

Dallas police arrested Richardson shortly after he left the parking lot. He's charged with a misdemeanor discharge of a fire arm within city limits. 

District Five Councilman Ricky Callahan, who represents the area where the video was recorded, was disturbed when he saw the video and he vows to crack down.

"It's troubling. Of course, it's very anarchical, you know to see something like that," Callahan said. "We will get a plan in place that it will stop this activity, that's all there is to it."

The plan calls for cooperation between the police, the business owners in the area and the public to report problems when they see them.

Richardson said they were stunting for nearly 30 minutes before the shooting started. Dallas police say they only received two calls -- one for racing and stunting and one for shots fired.

"It always goes back to if you see something, say something," Callahan said. "Just assuming everyone called 911, doesn't get it."

The strip mall says it will install parking curbs and speed bumps to take away the free reign feel of the lot. Police say they'll saturate the area now using a helicopter, parking lot surveillance and uniformed and undercover officers.

Richardson would not reveal the name of the car club he is a part of or who else was there.