Now that the alleged shooter from Monday’s Capitol Hill melee has been identified as Larry Russell Dawson, photos of the man have become a hot search item. Dawson is a pastor and social activist who fought for an increase in minimum wage rates in the past, as reported by Heavy .
Larry Dawson, shot at U.S. Capitol, is pastor who has called for a minimum wage increase https://t.co/EGP9HPI0YW pic.twitter.com/sPNIfkt4fT
— Heavy Sports (@HeavyOnSports) March 28, 2016
In the photo, Larry Dawson holds a sign titled “The Movement to Raise the Minimum Wages From $7.25 to $15.00” and points to the www.stlukesnashville.org church website on the sign.
According to the Daily Beast , police shot Dawson, who hails from Antioch, Tennessee, at around 2:39 p.m. ET. after he entered the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center and allegedly produced a weapon. Dawson was being screened by security when he allegedly drew his weapon and pointed it at police. In turn, officers fired at Dawson and shot him.
Tourists and people with government business were in abundance in Washington, DC on a pleasant spring day. In the blink of an eye, chaos erupted, and one group of children was seen rushing away from the Capitol building after reports of gunfire, allegedly from Dawson, began to circulate. Fear was etched on the faces of the youngsters and on the grim visages of the adults leading them to safety
Another photo of Dawson , as reported by Heavy , shows him dressed in a white suit with a white hat and a colorful shirt and tie. The publication also published a photo of Pastor Dawson from the St. Luke’s Nashville website. In those photos of Dawson, he can be seen wearing his pastor’s garb with a long white robe. He has a red scarf around the robe in the photos.
In the meantime, photos of other men named Larry Dawson are being passed around online, with the wrong Dawson photos being pegged by some publications.
This appears not to be the Larry Dawson involved in today’s #Capitol altercation pic.twitter.com/JUgW7V01Q9
— Loree Lewis (@loreelew) March 28, 2016
Folks are retweeting the incorrect photo of Dawson, although the image actually show a different person dressed in Muslim garb, and the wrong photo is bringing in plenty of reactions online.
The man on Facebook, who isn’t the alleged shooter named Larry Dawson , is allowing folks to comment on his page, with some people realizing he is not the alleged shooter.
“Notice the cross around his neck – the man is a Christian. His page blew the heck up and he is actually being an awesome sport about it by allowing people to talk on his page. It would only take one glance at his page to tell he isn’t the shooter. The shooter was a 66-year-old black man.”
While Larry Dawson was first reported as “not seriously” injured after being shot, Mr. Dawson was taken to a hospital for surgery, and the latest reports still do not update Dawson’s condition or the extent of his injuries. A woman who was hurt during the melee suffered an injury that was not considered life-threatening. She was reported to be between 35 to 45 years of age.
#ThisJustIn #Capitol Visitors Ctr #shooting suspect #LarryDawson ‘s letter he wrote to court @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/0b5MAj6XQd
— Stephanie Wilson (@SWilsonProducer) March 28, 2016
The suspect was known to Capital Hill police. According to reports, Dawson was arrested for shouting “I’m a prophet of God!” from the House of Representatives balcony on October 22, 2015. Excerpts from the letter Dawson wrote to the court after he missed a court appearance concerning the 2015 incident also surfaced online. In that letter, Larry once again called himself a prophet of God and told the court they had no legal authority over him.
“To whom it may concern:
I am Larry R. Dawson, a Minister and True Prophet of God. I have been called chosen and sent unto You this day. I am not under the Law! Romans 6:14 For sin shall not [have] dominion over you. For you are not under the law, but under Grace!!!
It is a serious mistake to press law-observance in the face of repeated revelations that the believer of this age is not under law as his rule of life.
Therefore, I will not comply with the court order, nor will I surrender myself unto your office. No longer will I let myself be governed by flesh and blood, but only by the Divine Love of God!!!
Yours in Christ Jesus,
L.R. Dawson”
[AP Photo/Cliff Owen]
