WANTED: Law enforcement searching for man accused of shooting at Taylor Electric employees - KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com
TAYLOR COUNTY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Law enforcement are searching for a man accused of opening fire on electric employees who were fixing an outage in Merkel.
Derek Holdridge is a person of interest in the shooting, which took place outside a home on the 600 block of Derstine Road around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Taylor County Sheriff Ricky Bishop told KTAB and KRBC Taylor Electric Co-op employees were on site fixing an outage reported in the area when a male suspect came out of the home and opened fire, first shooting into the air then pointing at the employees and shooting.
No one was hit by the bullets, but electric equipment and wires, including a transformer, was damaged.
Sheriff Bishop says his deputies quickly established a perimeter around the home and tried to make contact after the shooting, but no one inside was answering, so the Abilene Police Department SWAT team was called for backup.
While waiting for SWAT to arrive, Sheriff Bishop says Holdridge’s wife, Amanda Holdridge, came outside and gave them consent to search the home.
Holdridge was not found and is now considered at large. He’s currently a person of interest in the shooting and is wanted for questioning as the Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon investigation continues. Authorities do not believe he is a danger to the public.
Amanda was arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine, and multiple children who were at school were placed into CPS custody.
Merkel ISD was on ‘secure’ lockout while school was let out for the day as a precaution while this police investigation was ongoing.
Taylor Electric issued the following statement regarding the incident:
During a routine outage call this morning, Taylor Electric Cooperative linemen were threatened with gunfire while working to restore an outage. Local authorities are investigating the incident. Thankfully, the linemen were able to leave the situation unharmed and we are grateful they are home safely with their families this evening.
Taylor County Sheriff Cliff Griffin released the following information following the incident:
On January 26, 2022, at approximately 11:30 AM, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office received a report from Taylor Electric that they had received a report of a power outage at the 600 block of Derstine Road. Taylor Electric employees witnessed a male shooting a rifle into the air and then shooting in their direction upon arriving at the location. Deputies with the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene and attempted to make contact with the subject at his home at that location. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office called the Abilene Police Department SWAT Team for assistance. The area was searched by deputies and drones from the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office and the Abilene Police Department. A female, later identified as Amanda Holdridge, exited the suspect’s home and was arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine. The male subject could not be located and was identified as Derrick Holdridge and is wanted as a person of interest in this ongoing investigation for Aggravated Assault. If you have any information on his location, don’t hesitate to contact Detective Lee Kidwell with the Taylor County’s Sheriff’s Office at 325-674-1300. Derrick and Amanda Holdridge have four children and were in school at the time. Child Protective Services was contacted and has taken possession of the children. We do not believe that there is any danger to the public, and no one was injured due to the shooting.
BigCountryHomepage.com will update this article once a mugshot for Holdridge is released.
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