ARLINGTON, TEXAS: A tattoo shop owner in Arlington, Texas shot and killed an employee he had fired moments before following an argument on Tuesday afternoon, according to Arlington police.
The shop owner at 900 block of W Division Street had requested assistance with an employee he had fired but then shots were fired as police made their way to the business.
Who is Javier Arredondo?
Javier Arredondo, 42, also known as “Big Dawg”, called 911 around 2.14 pm to report that the employee he had just fired was refusing to leave the store.
Minutes later, he opened fire on the employee, who died at the scene. He now faces murder charges for the killing.
The police, in a press release posted on Facebook, said that they received another call about shots being fired at the business while they were on their way.
When they arrived, they found the employee, a 46-year-old man whose name has not been released, lying on the ground inside the business with a gunshot wound.
Javier Arredondo and the employee had a tense verbal exchange
Arredondo stayed at the business and was arrested after speaking with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. The police said that Arredondo and the employee had a “tense verbal exchange” following the employee’s firing.
“Then, minutes after placing the 911 call, Arredondo pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots at the employee, striking him,” Arlington police said.
The police added that there was no one else in the business at the time of the shooting, as Arredondo asked other employees to leave during the argument.
They also said that the employee did not appear to have any weapons or to have tried to assault Arredondo.
The shooting happened at Vato Loco Tattoo Studio
The shooting happened at Vato Loco Tattoo Studio, as reported by WFAA. A sign on the door said “Shop closed! Sorry for any inconvenience…Thx Mgmt,” a video taken by the TV station shows.
Arredondo’s profile page on the parlour’s website says his nickname is “Big Dawg.”
He was born in Laredo, Texas and grew up in Chicago before moving back to Texas in 1998, his profile said.
He said he became a tattoo artist in the early 2000s and would “tattoo the homies while they would smoke weed, drink 40s and hang with the females.”
Big Dawg claims he was a troublemaker growing up
He also said that he was a troublemaker growing up but now he channels that energy into art.
“I feel like I’m skipping school every day when I come to work and then I get to do art all day.
"I love what I do and I don’t ever want to take it for granted,” he told Pain Magazine, which was posted on his Instagram page as per Law&Crime.
Arredondo was taken to the Arlington City Jail where he is being held without bond.
An Arlington police spokesman said the probable cause arrest affidavit could be available later today
