British tourist shot dead while on Texas road trip
Pastor Dale Morgan
British tourist shot dead while on Texas road trip *
Father gunned down on visit to see the town made famous by the hit song
* Ben Quinn
* guardian.co.uk, Saturday 7 November 2009 22.01 GMT
The family of a British tourist who was shot dead while on a road trip
across the United States said last night that he was "just in the wrong
place, at the wrong time" when he was killed during a robbery at a Texas
bar.
Thomas Reeve, a father-of-one who was on a month-long journey from San
Francisco to Florida with two friends, had only planned to make a brief
stop in the small town of Amarillo because of the hit song by Tony
Christie, "(Is This The Way To) Amarillo", according to relatives.
The 28-year-old, from Maidenhead in Berkshire, died from a single bullet
wound after a masked attacker walked into the Spotted Pony bar in the
centre of the town shortly before 11pm on Thursday night.
A 25-year-old man was arrested by police on Friday following the
incident, in which a 48-year-old man was also shot in the hand and a
woman was sexually assaulted.
Mr Reeve, who had a nine-month-old daughter, was described as "a
much-loved son, brother and father who will be missed by the whole
family and very many friends" in a statement released by his family
yesterday.
"He loved life, was always happy and optimistic about the future. He was
generous, kind and always saw the best in every one he met. He adored
his nine-month-old daughter, Tabitha, and was a devoted father," added
his stepfather, Brian Millin, and mother, Margaret, who told reporters
that she felt no anger towards her son's killer.
Mr Reeve, who had lived all his life in Maidenhead and attended Coventry
and Plymouth universities, had recently become the manager of a watch
shop in his hometown.
American police said that he and his friends had rented a car in
California and had arrived at the town just hours before the shooting.
He died at Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo, and his body was taken
to the nearby town of Lubbock for a post-mortem.
The gunman, who also attacked other customers in the bar, hitting them
either with his fists or the handgun, was captured on videotape as he
took purses, wallets and money from the bar's cash register and forced
one woman to remove some of her clothing.
Sergeant Kevin Dockery of Amarillo's special crimes unit said that a
suspect, named in US media reports as Ray Carlos Cisneros, aged 25, had
been charged with murder after he being arrested at a truck stop
following a 17-hour manhunt.
The gunman had been to the bar earlier in the evening, according to
reports, and returned later wearing a cloth over his face to disguise
himself. The cloth fell at one point, and customers recognised him from
his earlier visit.
Dockery told the BBC that the incident was "shocking", adding: "The bar
itself is a small pub. It's in a nice area of town – we really have not
had that much trouble there in the past."
Adam Cox, a reporter at KGNC Radio in Amarillo, said there was "a lot of
shock" at what had happened. "It really is a heartbreaking story, you
hate to hear that. When we saw it was a UK national who had just got
into Amarillo that day, it made our hearts sink."