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Texas convicted murderer on parole kills good Samaritan, wounds wife before suicide

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Published  May 12, 2026 12:32pm CDT
Texas
FOX Local
article

Wendell Lane Champion, Jr. (Source: Texas Department of Public Safety)

The Brief

    • A man on parole for murder killed a bystander and shot his wife before taking his own life Tuesday morning at a Nash, Texas, factory.
    • Eddie Ray Hill Jr. was fatally shot while attempting to intervene in the domestic dispute between the suspect and his wife at the Texarkana Aluminum plant.
    • The suspect’s wife is currently hospitalized; police say the investigation into the circumstances of the shooting is ongoing.

NASH, Texas - A man convicted of murder and released on parole last year killed a bystander and seriously wounded his wife before turning the gun on himself in a factory parking lot Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Texarkana factory shooting

What we know:

The shooting happened around 6:30 a.m. at Texarkana Aluminum on Alumax Drive in Nash, Texas. Nash Police officers arriving at the scene found the bodies of two men and a critically injured woman.

Investigators identified the shooter as Wendell Lane Champion Jr., 40, of Hope, Arkansas. Police said the incident began as a domestic dispute between Champion and his wife, Candis Jolene Champion, 37, who is an employee at the plant.

A second man, Eddie Ray Hill Jr., 48, of Texarkana, Texas, was shot and killed when he tried to intervene in the confrontation after arriving for work, according to a police statement.

After killing Hill, police say the suspect shot his wife and then committed suicide. Candis Champion was taken to a Texarkana hospital. Police officials say she is stable, but did not release her condition.

Dig deeper:

Public records show that Wendell Champion had a significant criminal history. He was convicted of first-degree murder in Harris County, Texas, in 2010 and was released on parole in 2025.

Champion and another person, Prinston Mortel Williams, were charged with capital murder that happened on Aug. 26, 2007. According to the City of Houston, 57-year-old Luis A. Ayala, a security officer, was shot in the leg and died from his injuries. Police said Champion and Williams went into the business and assaulted and shot Ayala before they robbed an employee at gunpoint. They ran from the scene with a large amount of cash.

Williams was convicted of the lesser-included offense of aggravated robbery and sentenced to life in prison.

What they're saying:

"The Nash Police Department extends its deepest condolences to the families, loved ones, and the employees of Texarkana Aluminum who were affected by this tragedy," the department said in a press release.

Authorities stated there are no other suspects and no ongoing threat to the public. The investigation into the circumstances of the shooting remains active.

Nash is a city in Bowie County, Texas, and is just west of Texarkana. 

The Source: Information in this article is from the Nash Police Department.

TexasCrime and Public SafetyNews