Security guard accused of shooting outside Texas hookah bar charged with murder

A security guard has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of a 32-year-old man he accused of shooting at a hookah bar early Sunday, police in Texas said.

Teddy Lee Mills is accused of fatally shooting Dayshawn Colen shortly after 2 a.m. at the Bravo Hookah Bar in Abilene, where Mills worked as a private security guard and Colen was a potential patron, police said.

Mills was arrested Wednesday and taken to the Taylor County Jail, where he remained Thursday. His bond was set at $250,000. His lawyer was not listed in the court record.

According to a complaint obtained by NBC News, Abilene police responded to a call about an injured person in a living room shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday. Abilene is about 150 miles west of Fort Worth. When the police arrived, Kolen had already been taken to the hospital. Two of Kolen’s relatives and the manager of the lounge building said in separate interviews Wednesday that Kolen’s friends took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to the complaint, Mills and witnesses told police that Kolen was shot after a large group of people tried to push through the front door to the living room. By the time Colen and others tried to enter, the lounge had reached its capacity of 160 people, building manager JR Rounsaville said in an interview Wednesday night. The complaint does not name those who tried to enter the rest room.

According to the complaint, Mills, who had a firearm, and another unarmed security guard were standing by the door. As the crowd pushed through the door, Mills is said to have fired two shots and struck Kolen twice.

Mills told officers at the scene that Colen was “talking” and threatening him, that the people at the door ignored orders to stand back so security could close the door, and that the crowd told him he wasn’t closing the door before they started fighting their way in, the report said. complaints Mills also told officers that Colen said he was going to “come for him” and that when the crowd pushed in, he felt “they” grab his Taser. Mills said he tried to push away and “was yanked,” after which he went for his firearm, according to the complaint. Mills then refused to speak further without a representative, the complaint said.

A witness named in the complaint told NBC News that he told police that Colen and the shooter got into an argument and that he tried to get between them before things escalated. He said he told police he hugged Kolen, but the crowd pushed them both forward and they tripped over the man, who then fired his weapon. The witness said he told police that Colen did not try to force his way inside.

Rounsaville said he and his parents own the building. He said he gave the video to police hours after the shooting. He declined to share any of the video with NBC News, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

On Thursday, a representative of Apex Tactical Security, which police said provided security at the lounge, confirmed that the company had hired Mills but declined to comment further. The company did not immediately respond to an emailed inquiry about Mills’ employment status and how long he had been with Apex Tactical Security. As of Thursday morning, his photo and work history were still listed on the company’s website. According to the website, Mills spent 10 years in the Army, three years with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department and nine years with the Indiana Sheriff’s Department.

Kolen’s cousin, Charles Reynolds, and Lawrence Glover, another cousin who lives in Abilene, said Kolen was dealing with the sudden loss of his mother, who died in August. They said Colen was an outgoing person and a loving father of three girls. Reynolds, who lives in Florida, said he and Colen were very close and that the last time they spoke a few weeks ago, they were making plans for Colen to visit him.

Reynolds and Glover wonder why it took police three days to make an arrest when they had video of the shooting, and said they believe the delay was due to Mills’ background in law enforcement. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Reynolds and Glover’s remarks.