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Police: ‘Suspicious’ Murder Of Off-Duty Abilene Cop Was ‘Premeditated’

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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The mysterious death of an off-duty Abilene, Tex. police officer at his home on Monday is being investigated by the FBI and Texas Rangers as a premeditated murder.

The family of the officer, Don Allen, found the 27-year-old dead in his home in Clyde, near Abilene.

Investigators have yet to determine a motive for the homicide, but a court document obtained by a local news station suggests that evidence indicates that “multiple parties” conspired to murder Allen, a rookie officer who recently transferred from the Clyde police department.

According to KTAB, a court document related to the case states “this homicide does not appear to be a random act. Based on the information provided by eye witnesses and provided by [the investigating detective’s] investigation, [the investigating detective] believes this was a premeditated act.”

The document also states that “communication occurred between multiple parties to plan and carry out the murder.”

“The manner of death was clearly suspicious,” Abilene police chief Stan Standridge said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“We have multiple leads,” he added. “We will exhaust all of those leads. I can only tell you the leads go to different locations.”

The sparse details in the case and the recent ambush and execution of Harris Co., Tex. sheriff’s deputy Darren Goforth have raised concerns that Allen, who is survived by his fiancee, was targeted specifically because he is a cop.

Goforth was ambushed and executed while pumping gas at a Houston-area gas station. Shannon Miles, 30, has been charged with capital murder in the shooting. Officials say he approached the 47-year-old Goforth from behind and shot him 15 times.

Though Miles’ motive is still unclear, local officials have suggested that Goforth was targeted because of his uniform.

During Tuesday’s news conference, Standridge said Abilene police officers’ “initial reaction was fear.”

“Why was Officer Allen chosen? That speaks a volume as it relates to how vulnerable are we? We look like this and we look like we are prepared for anything but the reality is we’re just like you.”

The Abilene police department declined to comment further on the investigation.

[h/t The Blaze]

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