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Complete Forecast for  May 09 2008

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

Police now say a Thursday afternoon shooting that left a Dallas man dead a block away from a Tyler middle school may be drug-related.

Tyler Police Department Public Information officer Don Martin said officers responded to 1705 Lenora Ave. at 1:34 p.m. on Thursday in reference to a shooting.
Uniformed officers and detectives began interviewing people at the scene and were tight-lipped about the death of 37-year-old Gerald DePaul Little, who was found dead in the den area of the home.

Women who were holding a garage sale across the street from the home where the shooting took place said they saw two men run from the home, get into a green car and flee.

However, police would not say if there were suspects in the case, and originally said at the scene that they were not 100 percent sure the shooting was not a suicide, even though the man was shot in the upper back area.

After questioning by the Tyler Morning Telegraph Friday afternoon, the police department said the shooting was not a random act.

“We have ruled it a homicide. It’s still an ongoing investigation basically. The investigators believe that this is not a random act of violence and are looking into the possibility of it being drug related,” Martin said.

He would not say if there were suspects even though the newspaper asked repeatedly about the information the two women gave about two men running from the residence.

Martin said police received a call from a relative stating that her nephew had been shot and was dead inside the residence on Lenora Avenue, a block away from Boulter Middle School on Garden Valley Road.

Martin said investigators located a gun inside the residence and interviewed possible witnesses who may have knowledge of what occurred.

Police would not release any further information in the case.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the Tyler Police Department at 903-531-1000.