Man who killed himself outside Mr Van Duyne’s house in Irving, a former employee

Updated at 14:44 with a suicide hotline. This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.

A man who shot and killed himself outside Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne’s Irving home on Wednesday was a former Republican Party official and activist, the Irving Police Department confirmed his identity to The Dallas Morning News on Thursday. market.

Richard Christian “Chris” Dillard, 55, was communications director for Van Duyne for his campaign from November 2019 to April 2020 and was a public relations officer for the Texas State Guard, according to his LinkedIn profile, which shows him pictured with Texas GOP President Allen West.

Dillard shot himself by suicide on Wednesday. Van Duyne, a freshman Republican, was at home at the time, according to spokeswoman Amanda Gonzalez Thompson.

Van Duyne called the police after hearing a shot and seeing a body on the front sidewalk around 3:45 pm. Van Duyne was participating in the budgeting of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee at the time.

“She is shocked and sad because someone took her own life,” Thompson said in a statement.

Dillard was pronounced dead at the scene. CEO Julie McCarty, of the right-wing True Texas Project, said in an email statement that she was “devastated by the passing of our good and faithful friend and patriot” and called Dillard “arguably the most popular activist in the Metroplex and beyond “.

“I know people will make assumptions and think they know what went wrong,” said McCarty. “I urge you to resist doing this and just celebrate a life well lived.”

State Representative Matthew Krause, R-Fort Worth, responded to Dillard’s death in a Facebook post.

“He was a consummate activist, offering his time in many ways for a number of causes,” said Krause. “And I always did it with a smile.”

The Irving Police Department and a spokeswoman for Van Duyne will give a virtual press conference on the incident at 3 pm on Thursday.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 24-hour hotline for crises: 1-800-273-8255. Confidential online chat is available at suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Crisis Text Line: 24 hour support, sending the HOME text message to 741741. More information at crisistextline.org

North Texas Behavioral Health Authority: 24-hour hotline at 1-866-260-8000 or go to ntbha.org

North Texas Suicide and Crisis Center: Talk to a trained counselor on the 24-hour hotline at 214-828-1000 or 800-273-8255 or go to sccenter.org

Navigation line Here For Texas Mental Health: Grant Halliburton Foundation initiative that connects northern Texans with personalized mental health resources for each person at 972-525-8181 or go to HereForTexas.com

Dallas Metrocare Services: For help, call 1-877-283-2121 or go to metrocareservices.org

CORRECTION: An earlier statement by a Republican Party spokesman incorrectly suggested that Dillard sought a position in Van Duyne’s Congressional Office.