Son Says Panera Gunman Had Shot Mother Before

ABINGDON, MD – The son of the gunman who killed two deputies Wednesday in a confrontation that started in Panera said it was not the first time his father shot someone.

Jeremie Evans told WBAL that his estranged father—68-year-old David Brian Evans—shot his mother in 1997 or 1998 and they had not seen him in the nearly 20 years since the bullet traveled in and out of her neck.

Upon hearing from her sons that he may have been spotted in Harford County and was at the Panera in Abingdon, she went to the restaurant to see for herself, then alerted the sheriff’s office that she thought there was a warrant out for his arrest and was afraid he was going to hurt her, according to Jeremie Evans.

There were at least two warrants out for the arrest of David Evans, one in Florida for assaulting a police officer and eluding arrest, and a civil writ through the Harford County Circuit Court, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

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Just before noon on Wednesday, deputies responded to Panera in the 3400 block of Merchant Boulevard based on a tip that David Evans was there, according to Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.

When a deputy approached David Evans in the restaurant, witnesses said the officer was immediately shot.

A 15-year-old who was sitting nearby with her mother told the Associated Press: “I saw him fall back out of his chair, and the blood started coming out.” She was one of several young people at the restaurant for lunch on a day when school had been canceled in Harford County due to icy conditions.

The teen’s mother said the shooter seemed experienced, stating: “He knew what he was doing with a gun because he shot directly into the head.”

In fact, his son said that David Evans had been in the Army and probably shot the officer to avoid going to jail.

“I think what happened was these cops came in there probably to arrest him, and that’s what he saw,” Jeremie Evans told WBAL. “Being a 68-year-old man, he probably saw the rest of his life in jail and he said...’I’m going to try to get away.’”

Hear Jeremie Evans’ interview with WBAL.

After the gunman ran, witnesses helped point out which direction the suspect went—toward the Park View Apartments—and then a second deputy was shot before David Evans was taken down, according to the sheriff.

Senior Deputy Patrick Dailey and Senior Deputy Mark Logsdon were declared deceased at area hospitals. David Evans was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff said.

Jeremie Evans said Wednesday that his father was “a heavy drinker, he had emotional problems, and all in all, I think what happened today is a terrible tragedy.” He told WBAL that he knew the family of one of the deputies killed.

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