Arlington Police Release Surveillance Video From Shoe Store Shooting

Police seek public's help identifying masked gunman

The Arlington Police Department released edited surveillance video Wednesday recorded during a robbery and fatal shooting at the Red Wing Shoes store the day before.

Police said Randy Pacheco, the 23-year-old store manager, complied with the armed man at all times during the robbery and did not attempt to fight back before he was gunned down.  The shooting was recorded on surveillance video, but was edited out of the version released to the public.

Not much can be determined about the gunman's identity other than possibly his height, weight and general shape. The man can be seen walking through the store, with a gun, wearing dark-colored clothing and a hood and mask over his face.

Police believe that even though his face is covered, his clothing and movement may be recognizable to someone that knows him.

"The surveillance video is of the suspect that committed this heinous crime. He's got a mask on, but someone is going to recognize him from his clothes and his light blue shoes, particularly ... those are unusual shoes," said Sgt. Jeffrey Houston, with the Arlington Police Department. "The way he moves, we're asking anybody that sees him, recognizes him, to please call us at CrimeStoppers. I do believe that somebody that knows him well will recognize him."

In an interview Wednesday, police said some items were taken from the store during the robbery, but they declined to elaborate further.

The dog seen in the video belonged to Pacheco, police said.

Police said Tuesday night they were searching for a truck they believe may have been used by the gunman. The truck is described as a light-colored, or Champagne-colored, late 90s to early 2000s model Toyota Tacoma extended cab pickup.   In the photo (right), the truck is at the top, left of the frame.

Several other images of the truck can also be seen in the video.

Anyone with information about the masked gunman is asked to call Detective Griesbach with the Arlington Police Department at 817-459-5819, or CrimeStoppers at 817-469-TIPS.  Tipsters, who can choose to remain anonymous, could be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

Family Remembers Randy Pacheco

As the Arlington Police Department searches for the shooter, the family of the slain 23-year-old store manager, Randy Pachecho, grieves as they seek some sort of closure.

James Pacheco, Randy's father, hasn’t been able to sleep a wink since he recieved the news that his oldest son had been killed.

He said the pain has been unbearable.

“They don't make men like him anymore,” said Pacheco, choking back tears. “He was so nice to people, never had problems.”

Randy Pacheco worked at Red Wing Shoes with his younger brother and had dreams of one day owning his own store.

“He liked to manage people and he always said, 'What I wanna do is own a store,’” Pacheco said.

Pacheco has a message for the person who killed his oldest son.

“I hope God forgives him, cause I can't and I hope he gets caught and gets what he deserves. But it won't bring my son back,” he said. 

Arlington police continue to ask for the public's help to find the shooter. A financial reward could be given for information that leads to an arrest.

Store Manager Killed in Robbery

According to police, officers were called to the shopping center on the 3100 block of South Cooper Street at about 2 p.m. after gunshots were heard in the area. 

After responding to the call, officers discovered the manager's body inside the shoe store.

Employees at the nearby Subway sandwich shop said shortly before they heard the gunshots Tuesday they saw a man stop in front of their store and then glare at the employees inside.

The man, whom they described as looking like he was up to no good, walked away. A few moments later, they heard gunshots.

Police suspect the shooter may have been casing the shopping center, looking for a store where there were no customers inside.

At this time no arrests have been made or suspects named in connection with the shooting and robbery.
 
NBC 5's Jeff Smith and Ray Villeda contributed to this report.
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