Texas Tech shooting suspect: What we know about Hollis Daniels

LUBBOCK, Texas – Hollis Alvin Daniels, 19, from Seguin, Texas, is charged with capital murder after killing a Texas Tech University campus police officer Monday night, according to police.

Campus police officers were making a student welfare check and upon entering Daniels’ dorm room, authorities found evidence of drugs and drug paraphernalia, according to a Texas Tech University statement.

Authorities said officers were finishing booking paperwork for Daniels’ arrest when another officer inside the Tech Police Department heard a “loud bang” near the station’s briefing room, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

“During this time, the suspect pulled a gun and mortally shot an officer,” Texas Tech Police Chief Kyle Bonath said. “The suspect fled on foot and later apprehended by ... (campus police) near the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum.”

According to authorities, officers in a parking lot adjacent to the school’s coliseum tackled Daniels.

It is not clear if Daniels had the gun on him when he was taken to the police station or if he took the weapon from an officer, police said.

Daniels is being held by Lubbock County sheriff’s officials on a capital murder charge. His bond has been set at $5 million.

In the meantime, here’s everything we know about Daniels from Seguin, Texas: 

Daniels is the son of a former Seguin city councilman; his mother is an award-winning travel writer and photographer 

Officials with the city of Seguin confirmed Tuesday morning that Daniels’ father, H. A. ‘Danny’ Daniels, was on the City Council from 2006 to 2010. 

On her Instagram page, his mother, Janis Reid Daniels, shared photos of him during their travels outside the country.

According to her website, Daniels has been featured on CNN's Airport Network, Travel Channel's website, and various other popular outlets.

In one Instagram post, Daniels references her son by his nickname "Reid" saying: “Reid enjoys a pint with mom at The Old George, Newcastle’s Oldest Pub.” 

Daniels’ family owns a movie theater in Seguin

 Officials with the city also confirmed the Daniels family owns The Palace Theatre.

According to the movie theater’s official Facebook page, The Palace Theatre was built in 1928 but was temporarily closed due to a gas explosion on March 25, 1946.

“Though the Palace Theatre was being rebuilt, owner H. A. 'Windy' Daniels put up a screen in the parking lot and played movies. The theatre reopens January 10, 1947, with an Art Deco Style,” the Facebook page said.

A family relative talked to KSAT-12’s Katrina Webber off-camera, saying the family has owned the theater “forever” and even lives across the street from it.

Friends and family say they are in shock and disbelief about the slaying

The family relative also told KSAT-12’s Katrina Webber that his family has traveled to Lubbock. The relative said the entire family is shocked about the news.

The relative told Webber off-camera that Daniels comes from a loving family that has done so much for the city of Seguin. 

Friends of Daniels also shared their disbelief on Twitter, with one saying, “He’s not a monster, he has a good heart, I promise.”

According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Daniels confessed to the murder of the officer and told detectives, "I f****d up" and "shot their friend." 

Daniels graduated from Seguin High School and was studying Communication Arts at Texas Tech University

Seguin Independent School District confirmed Tuesday morning that Daniels started summer school at Seguin High School in 2013 but enrolled at the high school on Feb. 2, 2015, and graduated on June 3, 2016. 

According to his Facebook page, Daniels went to New Braunfels Christian from 2013 to 2014 before Seguin HS.

Daniels has been attending Texas Tech University since 2016 and was studying Communication Arts – Radio, TV, Mass Media Studies, according to his Facebook page. 

Daniels’ mother called for gun control shortly after the Las Vegas shooting 

In a tweet sent on Oct. 4, Daniels’ mother shared a petition on her Twitter page calling for stronger gun control shortly after the nation witnessed the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The tweet said, “Emergency petition: #ThoughtsandPrayers are not enough. We need #guncontrol now.”

THE LATEST HEADLINES:

Follow Adrian on Twitter | Like Adrian on Facebook 

agarcia@ksat.com