A security guard has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder charge in the death of a 32-year-old man he is accused of shooting at a hookah lounge early Sunday, police in Texas said.
Teddy Lee Mills is accused of shooting Day’shaun Colen shortly after 2 a.m. at the Bravo Hookah Lounge in Abilene, where Mills was working a private security detail and Colen was a would-be 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. An attorney was not listed for him in court records.
According to a complaint obtained by NBC News, Abilene police responded to a call about an injured person at the lounge shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday. Abilene is about 150 miles west of Fort Worth. When officers arrived, Colen had already been taken to the hospital. Two of Colen’s relatives and the building manager of the lounge said in separate interviews Wednesday that Colen’s friends took him to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
Mills and witnesses told officers that Colen was shot after a large group of people had tried to push through the lounge’s entry door, according to the complaint. The lounge had reached its capacity of 160 people when Colen and others tried to enter, the building manager, J.R. Rounsaville, said in an interview Wednesday evening. The complaint does not name those who were trying to enter the lounge.
Mills, who had a firearm, and another unarmed security guard were at the door, according to the complaint. When the crowd pushed through the door, it says, Mills fired two rounds and struck Colen twice.
Mills told officers at the scene that Colen “had been getting mouthy” and threatening him, that people at the door had ignored orders to back up so security could shut the door and that the crowd told him he was not shutting the door before they started pushing their way in, the complaint says. Mills also told officers that Colen said he was “gonna get him” and that when the crowd was pushing in, he felt “them” grab his Taser. Mills said he was trying to push back and “he was getting tugged on,” at which point he went for his firearm, according to the complaint. Mills then refused to speak further without representation, the complaint says.
A witness named in the complaint told NBC News that he told police that Colen and the shooter had gotten into an argument and that he tried to get between them before things escalated. He said he told police that he put his arm around Colen but that they were both pushed forward by the crowd and stumbled toward the man, who then fired his weapon. The witness said he told police Colen was not trying to push his way into the venue.
Rounsaville said he and his parents own the building. He said he had turned over video to police hours after the shooting. He declined to share any video with NBC News, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.
Reached by phone Thursday, a representative of Apex Tactical Security, which police said was providing security at the lounge, confirmed the company had employed Mills but declined to comment further. The company did not immediately reply to an email inquiry about Mills’ employment status and how long he had worked for Apex Tactical Security. As of Thursday morning, his photo and work history were still listed on the company’s website. According to the site, Mills spent 10 years in the Army, three years with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department and nine years with a sheriff’s department in Indiana.
Colen’s cousin Charles Reynolds and Lawrence Glover, another cousin who lives in Abilene, said Colen had been grieving 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 that he and Colen had a very close relationship and that the last time they spoke weeks ago, they were planning 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 had to do with Mills’ law enforcement background. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Reynolds and Glover’s remarks.