How woman made it out as lone survivor of Texas campsite shooting
ANDERSON COUNTY, Texas — The lone survivor of a shooting that took the lives of six at a Texas campsite earlier this week hid from the gunman during the shooting, according to an arrest warrant released Wednesday.
According to testimony from Cynthia Johnson, the lone survivor of the attacks, William Hudson — the suspected gunman — helped the family pull a vehicle from the mud Saturday. He then allegedly returned later that evening and drank alcohol with the family before accompanying four of them — including a 6-year-old boy into the surrounding woods, the warrant provided by the Anderson County Sheriff's Office said.
Johnson heard gunshots before Hudson, 33, returned alone to the campsite and chased two of her family members — her husband Carl Johnson, and daughter Hannah Johnson, into the trailer. She fled and hid in the woods, but saw her husband fall on the steps of the camper, where Hudson shot him.
She continued to hide until she felt safe enough to call authorities.
The bodies of the six victims were found on private property outside Palestine, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas, according to the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, which called the homicide the largest in county history.
Authorities have said Hudson went to his mother's home on an adjacent property and the warrant shows deputies saw him through a door wearing bloodstained clothes. He barricaded himself inside before eventually surrendering.
The motive for the attack remains unclear.
Hudson remains in the Anderson County jail on a $2.5 million bond. His court-appointed attorney, Stephen Evans, said he couldn't comments on the details of the investigation because he was just assigned the case and hadn't met with Hudson.
"This is very obviously going to be a long hard journey and we have a lot of work to do," said Evans.
Police found the bodies of Hannah Johnson's boyfriend Thomas Kamp, her son Kade, and Kamp's sons Nathan and Austin in a pond behind Hudson's home.
Thomas Kamp purchased the land in August. Kamp and Hannah Johnson lived together in Midlothian, south of Dallas, with Johnson's son Kade. They were at the campsite with Johnson's parents and two of Kamp's children from another marriage. Nathan and Austin were California residents. The family also was celebrating Nathan's upcoming 24th birthday.
Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Kris Kirst on Twitter: @kristinekirst