A man fatally shot while defending a friend continues to give to those in need, even in death.
Family members say Patrick Nunnelly, 23, was a true friend to ones he loved.
"You know, he had a great heart, a great personality," said Kim Wayne Segale, Nunnelly's mother. "He felt very protective over me and his sister, and later in life felt like he needed to protect all women."
Nunnelly was trying to break up an argument between his friend Melissa and Royse Dotson, 27, when Dotson pulled a gun, shot Nunnelly in the face and left him for dead, police said.
Nunnelly called 911 and was transported to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, where he later died.
"Patrick didn't provoke him," Segale said. "He just went there to protect Melissa because Melissa was helping him at a time of need and he felt like he needed to help her."
Dotson fled in his girlfriend's red Chevrolet Cavalier with Texas license plate Z54-VYY, police said. He is considered armed and dangerous.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
The suspect's girlfriend, Katie Stevens, said since Dotson fled in her car, she had not heard from him. She said he had been agitated and restless in the week prior to the murder.
"I feel so bad for Patrick's family," Stevens said as she teared up.
Meanwhile, the victim's family is afraid of what might happen if the Dotson is not caught soon.
"I think the community is in a lot of danger as long as he's out there," Segale said.
The only thing that gives Segale solace is that her son's death is saving the lives of others.
"I've been told that they have a recipient in line for his heart and his lungs and his kidneys and his liver," she said. "It is a good feeling."
Recipients are given the name of the person who donated their organs. Segale said the greatest feeling on Earth would be to meet the person who was given life by her son's heart.
"The greater feeling will be when I'm in Heaven, seeing him," she said.
