4 dead, 4 wounded in Dallas-area shootings

Katharine Lackey | USA TODAY

Police were trying to determine Thursday what prompted fatal shootings at two homes in and near Dallas that left four dead and another four wounded.

Investigators arrested Erbie Bowser, 44, at the scene of the second shooting, which took place late Wednesday.

In the suburb of DeSoto, he was charged with two counts of capital murder, and Dallas police were preparing identical charges, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The shootings began about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at a Dallas home, where Bowser's girlfriend, 43-year-old Toya Smith, and her 17-year-old daughter, Tasmia Allen, were killed, police said. Smith's 14-year-old son and a 17-year-old family friend were wounded.

Police said Bowser then went to the DeSoto home of his estranged wife, first lobbing a grenade into the living room before shooting and killing Zina Bowser and his former girlfriend, 28-year-old Neima Williams. Two boys, ages 11 and 13, were critically wounded in the shooting before Bowser ran out of ammunition, police said.

Bowser was not believed to be related to any of the children.

DeSoto police Cpt. Melissa Franks told the AP that she could not confirm that a grenade or other explosive device had been used in the DeSoto attack, pending the results of a federal and Dallas bomb squad investigation.

Bowser performed with the Dallas Maverick's ManiAACs, a male-performance squad of self-described "beefy men," according to the group's website. A 2011 bio of Bowser for the ManiAACs said he was 6-foot-7 and nearly 400 pounds, the Morning News reported.

Bowser also worked as a special education teacher until 2010, when he resigned on "good terms," Laura Jobe, administrative officer for the Mesquite Independent School District told the Morning News.

While Jobe said she did not personally know the suspect, she had spoken with another district employee who had worked with Bowser.

"From what I understand, he was a very likable guy," Jobe said. "He was described to me as a gentle giant; never anything violent about him. In fact, just the opposite."

Contributing: The Associated Press