CNN:
Mark Hasse "had an absolute passion for putting away bad guys, and he enjoyed nothing better," his boss said.
Now investigators are looking into whether that passion led to Hasse being gunned down outside his office in Kaufman, Texas, where he was an assistant district attorney. Hasse was killed in the parking lot of the Kaufman County courthouse Thursday morning, shot several times after "a very small, very short confrontation," Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh said.
"It was apparent that he was not expecting to have anything happen," Aulbaugh said. "He was on his way to his office."
It's very sad, but there's also more to the story. A couple of months ago, the Department of Justice indicted 34 members of the Texas Aryan Brotherhood in connection with a joint task force that involved just about every county in Texas. Previous to that, they had two members of the Aryan Brotherhood plea-bargain to federal racketeering charges.
According to DallasNews.com, Hasse was involved in recent investigations of the Aryan Brotherhood, which would explain why the ATF, FBI, and Texas Rangers are all involved in the investigation of his shooting.
The Aryan Brotherhood is a criminal gang. Their activities transcend your run-of-the-mill white supremacist type. From the DOJ press release regarding the indictments of 34 members:
Court documents allege that the ABT enforced its rules and promoted discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, arson, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Members, and oftentimes associates, were required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, often referred to as “direct orders.”
District Attorney Mike McClellan has promised to "pull [the murderer] out of whatever hole you're in, we're going to bring you back and we're going to let the people of Kaufman County prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law."
I have a feeling they won't be the only ones to throw the book at whoever did this, with all of those federal agencies involved.
