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1982 Grand Prairie warehouse shootings

SOLVED1982Grand Prairie, Texas, United States3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the morning of August 9, 1982, John Felton Parish, a 49-year-old truck driver, carried out a mass shooting at two warehouses in Grand Prairie, Texas, killing six people and injuring three, before dying in a shootout with police following a vehicle-ramming attack on a patrol car. At the time, it was described as the worst mass shooting in Dallas–Fort Worth history.

At approximately 8:00 a.m., Parish entered the Western Transportation Company building armed with a shortened M1 carbine, a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a .38-caliber revolver, intending to discuss an unresolved pay dispute with his supervisor, Eddie Ulrich. During the encounter he killed Ulrich, truck driver Martin Moran, and operations manager Moody Smith. He then stole a bobtail truck and drove to the company's nearby office, where he killed executive secretary Wyvonne Kohler and wounded receptionist Ruth James and operations manager Burnett Hart. He briefly took office worker Vicki Smallwood hostage while searching for a specific executive, but released her after recognizing her as the wife of an acquaintance.

Parish next drove about four miles to the Jewel-T warehouse, where he killed district sales manager Dave Bahl and distribution manager Richard Svoboda, shooting Svoboda twice. He also wounded shipping supervisor Robert Sarabia. Leaving the building, Parish hijacked an 18-wheeler truck after a scuffle with driver Carl Lorentz, who broke his foot fleeing the confrontation.

Parish then drove the stolen truck through downtown Grand Prairie, pursued by police. Approaching a police barricade about 1.5 miles later, he was fired on by officer Alan T. Patton and intentionally crashed into Patton's patrol car at roughly 70 miles per hour, throwing Patton a significant distance and causing severe injuries including a fractured ankle, broken jaw, and punctured lung. The truck then struck a utility pole and crashed into a building, overturning. Parish emerged from the wreckage still firing at officers and entered the building through a hole in the wall, where he was killed by police gunfire at 8:27 a.m. The entire event, from the first shooting to Parish's death, lasted approximately 25 minutes.

According to Grand Prairie Police Chief David Kunkle, Parish had previously quarreled with all of the male victims, while the two female victims killed or injured were reportedly not personally targeted. Parish had a history as a truck driver spanning twenty years, was estranged from his wife after losing a custody battle, and had recently disputed $1,600 in pay he believed he was owed by Western Transportation.

Key facts

Victims
Moody Charles Smith, Burnett Hart, Dave Bahl, Robert Sarabia, Eddie Eugene Ulrich, Richard T. Svoboda, Carl Lorentz, Wyvonne Kohler, Alan T. Patton, Ruth James, Martin Douglas Moran
Date
1982
Location
Grand Prairie, Texas, United States
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1982-08-09

    John Parish shoots and kills three people at Western Transportation Company warehouse in Grand Prairie, Texas, then moves to the company's nearby office and kills a fourth victim, wounding two others.

  2. 1982-08-09

    Parish drives to the Jewel-T warehouse and kills two more people, wounding another.

  3. 1982-08-09

    Parish hijacks an 18-wheeler truck after a scuffle with its driver, leading police on a high-speed chase through downtown Grand Prairie.

  4. 1982-08-09

    Parish rams a police patrol car, severely injuring officer Alan T. Patton, then crashes the stolen truck into a building.

  5. 1982-08-09

    Parish is killed by police in a shootout at approximately 8:27 a.m., roughly 25 minutes after the first shooting began.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Moody Charles Smith

    VICTIM

    Killed; operations manager at Western Transfer & Storage, age 58.

    citation on file

  • Burnett Hart

    VICTIM

    Injured; operations manager at Western Transfer & Storage, age 42, shot in the head.

    citation on file

  • Dave Bahl

    VICTIM

    Killed; district sales manager at Jewel-T warehouse, age 28.

    citation on file

  • Robert Sarabia

    VICTIM

    Injured; supervisor at Jewel-T warehouse, age 30.

    citation on file

  • Eddie Eugene Ulrich

    VICTIM

    Killed; supervisor at Western Transfer & Storage, age 40.

    citation on file

  • John Felton Parish

    CONVICTED

    Perpetrator; killed by police at the scene and therefore never tried, but identified by police and press coverage as sole perpetrator of the shootings and vehicle-ramming attack.

    citation on file

  • Richard T. Svoboda

    VICTIM

    Killed; distribution manager at Jewel-T warehouse, age 37.

    citation on file

  • Carl Lorentz

    VICTIM

    Injured; truck driver for Jewel-T warehouse, age 57, broke his foot fleeing an assault by the perpetrator.

    citation on file

  • Wyvonne Kohler

    VICTIM

    Killed; executive secretary at Western Transfer & Storage, age 45.

    citation on file

  • Alan T. Patton

    VICTIM

    Injured; police officer, age 28, struck by the hijacked truck and seriously injured.

    citation on file

  • Ruth James

    VICTIM

    Injured; receptionist for Western Transfer & Storage, age 19, shot in shoulder and neck.

    citation on file

  • Martin Douglas Moran

    VICTIM

    Killed; truck driver for Western Transfer & Storage, age 30.

    citation on file

Places

Grand Prairie, Texas, United States

32.7460, -96.9977

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On August 9, 1982, John Parish, a 49-year-old truck driver, killed six people and injured three others in a shooting spree at two Grand Prairie, Texas warehouses before hijacking a truck and dying in a police shootout after a high-speed chase.
Where did the shootings happen?
Grand Prairie, Texas, United States.
Who was convicted?
John Felton Parish (Perpetrator; killed by police at the scene and therefore never tried, but identified by police and press coverage as sole perpetrator of the shootings and vehicle-ramming attack.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. 1982 Grand Prairie warehouse shootingswikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — The New York Timesnews · The New York Times · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — search.worldcat.orgnews · search.worldcat.org · 2026-07-07
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