Suspect ID'd in murder of George H.W. Bush's former doctor
Houston police issue arrest warrant for Joseph James Pappas, who investigators believe shot and killed Dr. Mark Hausknecht, a prominent cardiologist who once treated former President George H.W. Bush.
An ex-friend of the suspect in the killing of former President George H.W. Bush's former doctor said he believes the suspect has a "hit list," according to a report.
The friend of suspect Joseph James Pappas, 62, told Houston's KHOU-TV that he could be hunting his next victim, adding that cardiologist Dr. Mark Hausknecht was "number one on the list."
The former friend said Pappas told him, over burgers and tacos, that "one day the people who bullied him in high school would meet a day of reckoning," after he mentioned being called "Greek shrimp" then.
“If there’s a bully he had in high school I would tell that person to take an unplanned vacation to Alaska."
“If there’s a bully he had in high school I would tell that person to take an unplanned vacation to Alaska,” the friend said.
Pappas should be considered armed, dangerous and possibly suicidal, Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference Wednesday.
"Joe is extremely intelligent. He’s patient, he’s unassuming, he’s a deadly shooter,” the friend said, adding that he's and "expert marksman.
Pappas worked from 1983 through 1995 as a peace officer with two Houston-area constable offices. He also worked from 1995 through 2013 as a reserve officer for the same constable offices, according to records from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
HOUSTON POLICE SEARCH, CLEAR HOME OF SUSPECT IN DEATH OF HW BUSH DOCTOR
The day before Pappas allegedly killed Hausknecht, Pappas signed his Westbury neighborhood home over to an Ohio woman, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Several months prior, he appeared to be divesting himself of his belongings, the report said.
Pappas appeared to have begun offloading furniture online last October, listing an antique desk for sale on Nextdoor.com, a social media merchandise site, according to the paper.
On Armslist.com, a website where people can sell firearms, someone with the same phone number as Pappas' real estate company had several listings for a variety of weapons and accessories, including a .38-caliber revolver, a semi-automatic rifle and some bulletproof vests.
“It looks like the guy was trying to get rid of his worldly possessions,” a source familiar with the investigation told the Chronicle.
Friends and neighbors in the Westbury area told the paper that they still were in shock. They said many knew Pappas as “Joey,” and as a quiet, nice man who mostly kept to himself.
Yvonne Shaw told the Chronicle that Pappas let her stay with him for two weeks when she was homeless and gave her money to go to Georgia to see her mother.
"He cared about people. He didn't seem like someone who would hurt anybody," she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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