Plano Shooting: 911 Call Warned Cops About Mass Shooter Spencer Hight, But Call Came Too Late To Stop Massacre
On September 10, 32-year-old Spencer Hight arrived at the Plano, Texas, home of his estranged wife Meredith Lane with at least two weapons. The 27-year-old woman, who had only recently split from Hight due to his heavy alcohol use and physical abuse, was hosting a gathering of friends for the first time since her separation, a “watch party” for that day’s Dallas Cowboys football game.
But Hight shot and killed Meredith and didn’t stop there. He continued firing inside the house and killed seven more partygoers — including two of his own close friends who had served as groomsmen at his wedding to Lane five years earlier — before a lone, heroic police officer showed up and engaged in a gun battle with Hight, killing the gunman.
Now, new police documents released this week have revealed more details from that horrifying night, including a chilling and heartbreaking description of the moments before Hight killed Meredith from a previously undisclosed witness, another guest at the party who was in the backyard of Meredith Lane’s home when Hight arrived and started shooting, according to a report by KXTV News in Dallas.
The documents also reveal that police received a 911 call warning about Hight prior to the mass shooting, but according to those documents the call came in too late for police to stop Hight from committing the massacre. Read the police search warrant for Hight’s apartment, revealing the alarming cache of weapons found there by investigators, below.
The documents reveal that Hight was “on a mission” to find and kill his estranged wife, who had filed for divorce just two months earlier. He first showed up at a bar where Meredith worked a mere three blocks from her home where she would later be killed by Hight.
Employees there said that Height openly displayed the weapons that he was carrying, but they demanded that he bring the weapons back to his car. They followed him outside, but Hight drove away. The employees were so disturbed by his behavior that they called 911 to warn police about him. One employee even followed Hight to the home that he had formerly shared with his wife. But the employee said that she drove away before Hight started shooting.
Watch a KXTV news report on the new revelations in the video below.
The partygoer who witnessed much of the shooting from the backyard of the home told police that she heard Hight and Meredith Lane arguing when he arrived at the home armed with a .38 caliber handgun, an AR-15 rifle, and a folding knife, according to a CBS News report.
The witness said that she heard Meredith say what would turn out to be her last words, pleading with Hight as he started shooting, “Did you really have to do this?”
The witness said that she then heard more gunshots, and moments later saw Hight open fire on the lone police officer who showed up at the scene. That officer was uninjured by Hight’s bullets, but was able to shoot and kill the gunman.
A post shared by Meredith Emily Hight (@hightmeredith) on
When investigators searched Hight’s own apartment they found approximately 2,000 rounds of ammunition and a Ruger 22 rifle, as well as a supply of illegal drugs including marijuana and over one pound of hallucinogenic mushrooms, according to the documents.
In addition to Meredith Lane, Hight killed Anthony Michael Cross, 33; Olivia Nicole Deffner, 24; James Richard Dunlop, 29; Darryl William Hawkins, 22; Rion Christopher Morgan, 31; Myah Sade Bass, 28; and Caleb Seth Edwards, 25. He wounded another of Meredith’s friend, Carly Shockey, who survived the massacre despite being shot in the face by Hight.
[Featured Image by Meredith Hight/Instagram]
