Richardson Police arrest third suspect, show persons of interest in connection to Waffle House shooting

RICHARDSON, Texas - Richardson Police continue their investigation into a shooting in a Waffle House parking lot that left a high school student paralyzed. 

Third suspect arrested

What's New:

Richardson Police announced a juvenile suspect has been arrested in connection with the shooting. Because the suspect is underage, their name will not be released.

The juvenile was charged with deadly conduct, and police believe they fired a weapon during the March 19 shooting.

Persons of interest

Richardson PD also released images of persons of interest from the shooting taken from surveillance footage.

Police believe students from Richardson ISD, Anna ISD and potentially other school districts were involved in the incident.

Previous arrests

Several days after the shooting, Richardson Police arrested 18-year-old Taylor Griffin and 17-year-old Charles Webster for their involvement and charged them with engaging in organized criminal activity.

Police said Griffin and Webster admitted to throwing punches before the gunfire broke out.

What we don't know:

Richardson PD says the shooter remains unidentified.

High school student paralyzed

The backstory:

The March 19 shooting left a Richardson High School student paralyzed from the waist down.

Court records show a crowd of 50 to 100 people showed up at the Richardson Waffle House on Spring Valley Road. An argument over a girl escalated into gunfire where multiple people fired their guns.

James Jackson says his son was involved in the fight after he saw one of his friends getting attacked. In videos of the shooting sent to FOX 4, Jackson does not appear to be anywhere near the shooter.

"He saw five guys jump on his friend, so out of knee-jerk reaction he kind of headed over there," James said. "So he just headed over there and never made it within 10–15 feet."

Seth Jackson is still recovering in the hospital, and is now permanently paralyzed from the waist down. His father said his son worked two jobs and played on the Richardson High School basketball team. 

He also says Seth had been accepted to the University of Houston, and he already had an apartment rented for the fall semester. Now, his father is figuring out how to make his home ADA compliant.

"I’ve got to go around the house and get a carpenter to modify the bathroom doors. We’ve got to remodel his bathroom."

Richardson PD continues investigation

What they're saying:

"We’re trying to nail down exactly that timeline. Nail down exactly those events. Who was standing where? What were they doing?"

Richardson Police Officer Mike Wieczorek says it's been difficult getting witnesses to speak up to help identify the shooter.

"Several of them left prior to us getting on scene, so there’s the possibility that people left the scene when they recorded some cell phone footage that might be useful," Wieczorek told FOX 4's David Sentendrey. 

"It’s proved to be challenging to get these guys actually identified."

Identifying the persons of interest may prove difficult since four of the five are wearing masks in images released by Richardson PD.

"Obviously, you wear a mask to cover who you are and conceal your identity," he continued. "We know some of them had weapons."

Wieczorek said police do not believe anyone showed up to the Waffle Houses with intentions to shoot, but now that someone is paralyzed, they want more people to speak up.

"You’ve got one individual who’s now paralyzed for the rest of his life. Life-changing event," Wieczorek said. "It’s important for there to be some accountability."

What you can do:

Richardson Police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to contact them immediately at (972) 744-4893.

Crime-Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment.

Griffin and Webster remain in jail on $50,000 bond each.

RichardsonCrime and Public Safety