HOUSTON (AP) - The Latest on the man police suspect of shooting dead a doctor of former President George H.W. Bush (all times local):
6:15 p.m.
A neighbor of the man Houston police have identified as a suspect in the fatal shooting of former President George H.W. Bush’s doctor describes him as a nice, quiet man who kept to himself and had few close friends.
Jim Herd said he has known Joseph James Pappas all of his life, having attended the same high school and church as him. He said they would wave at each other in passing, last time coming on Saturday as Herd washed his car in his driveway
Pappas’ house is in an older, established neighborhood in southwest Houston. Herd said Pappas had lived in the house since birth and now lived alone since inheriting the home when his father died about 10 years ago.
Herd said he saw Pappas mowing his lawn a week after the slaying of Dr. Mark Hausknecht.
Herd said the death about 20 years ago of Pappas’ mother during surgery hit her son hard. He remembers that Pappas stopped attending church for a long time, but he said he doesn’t remember hearing Pappas speak bitterly of her death or place blame for it.
After police released photos of the suspect, Herd said he thought it resembled Pappas but brushed the notion aside.
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2:30 p.m.
Authorities have identified a suspect in the fatal shooting of former President George H.W. Bush’s doctor.
Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference Wednesday that the suspect, 65-year-old Joseph James Pappas, should be considered armed and dangerous.
Acevedo says Dr. Mark Hausknecht operated on Pappas’ mother more than 20 years ago and that she died on the operating table.
Hausknect was fatally shot while riding a bicycle to work last month. Authorities say the shooter rode past Hausknecht before turning around and firing.
Acevedo says investigators think that a lot of planning went into the killing, and that it required a fair amount of skill.
In 2000, Hausknecht treated Bush for an irregular heartbeat after the ex-president complained about lightheadedness.
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