An electric company salesman was called racial slurs and shot at by a Texas resident but was not hit because he was holding a tablet.
The unidentified man, who works for Reliant Energy, was knocking on doors in East Fort Worth asking homeowners about their bills earlier this month, NBCDFW reported. When the veteran sales agent approached a residence on Purington Avenue, he was “shook up” after he saw how the resident responded.
“He just came out and just straight pointed the barrel at me and then shot me and told me to get away from here n****,” the man told the outlet. “I’m lucky it didn’t hit me. It hit the tablet.”
An estimated 50 percent of the population in the city, which is about 32 miles from Dallas, is white.
In NBCDFW’s news broadcast, the victim showed the damaged tablet, which was shattered by the bullet. He said he usually holds the device at the side of his body, but that day, it was in front of his stomach. He was able to escape and call the police, who responded to the scene.
The suspect was not inside the home when officers arrived. A spokesperson for the Fort Worth Police Department told Atlanta Black Star on Monday that 58-year-old Edward Camp was arrested on Feb. 13 and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Jail records show that Camp is being held at Tarrant County Corrections Center on 150,000 bond.
Reliant released a statement saying they are working with police on the investigation.
“We’re in the process of learning more, but thankfully, the sales agent was not harmed. The safety and security of sales agents is our top priority,” the statement said.
The salesman is calling for accountability for the homeowner because he could have been severely injured.
“This is the one thing I always fear — getting shot at the door, and today it happened,” the man explained, per the outlet. “I got two daughters. I could’ve been in the hospital dead now.”
