Tyler Holder: Charged With Murdering a 6-Year-Old, Shoots Cop Who Tried to Arrest Him

Tyler Holder, 17, of Saginaw, Texas has been charged with the murder of six-year-old Alanna Gallagher on July 1. Today, when officers attempted to serve Holder with an arrest warrant, he opened fire on them, shooting a cop in the groin, reports The Dallas Morning News. Police returned fire and shot Holder in the head. Tonight he’s in hospital where his condition has been described as “life-threatening.”

Alanna Gallagher’s partially naked dead body was discovered on July 1 at the side of a street in Saginaw, Texas.

Here’s what you need to know…

1. Holder Was Shot by Police on Tuesday Morning

Photo via Tyler Holder’s Facebook.

Holder opened fire on cops who attempted to arrest him this morning. He wounded one officer in the groin, but was shot in the head by another. He was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth where he remains in life threatening condition.

Holder answered the door to the cops with a gun in the waistband of his pants, he then opened fire.

The police officer who was shot was identified as Arlington cop Charles Lodatto, a 20 year veteran.

Arlington Officer Charles Lodatto

According to the Arlington Police Department’s Facebook page:

Earlier today, Arlington Officer Charles Lodatto was wounded in the line of duty after being shot by a suspect in Saginaw. Members of the Saginaw Police Dept., the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, and the North Texas Major Case Investigative Team were present during the execution of a search warrant.

We want to thank the community for their outpouring support, prayers, and well wishes for Officer Lodatto and our police family. We are happy to report that Officer Lodatto is surrounded by his family, friends, and APD family and is recovering well from his injuries.

Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson told DallasNews.com that Lodatto “has a difficult road in front of him.” They further report that his groin wound is quite serious and if a tourniquet hadn’t been applied by another officer at the scene, Bill Witham, a trauma surgeon at Harris Methodist Hospital, believes Lodatto would have bled to death.

2. His House is Just Doors Aways From Gallagher’s

Photo via Tyler Holder’s Facebook.

The six-year-old disappeared as she played in front of her home on July 1. After a brief search, her body was found on a nearby street, naked except for her underwear and covered by a tarp. She had a plastic bag over her head when she was found less than a mile from her home. The tarp was sealed with a belt, in response to her death, the FBI offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Her body was found by two teenage boys.

3. DNA Evidence Brought Police to Holder

Holder provided detectives with a DNA sample on July 5 as part of the investigation into Gallagher’s death. He had already been interviewed by police on July 1, the day Gallagher’s body was found, reports WFAA. That DNA was a match to DNA that was found on Gallagher’s body.

It was not known that the public had any suspects until this morning when five local cops descended on the Holder home. The teenager reportedly shares the home, on the 600 block of Babbling Brook Drive (above), with his mother, he was alone when the cops arrived.

Neighbor Janice Hobbs told WFAA:

I heard ‘pow,’ and then there was a pause and I heard ‘pow, pow,’

Katherine Chaumont of the FBI Dallas office told reporters:

Officers engaged the suspect at the door, an altercation ensued, the suspect produced the weapon and shots were fired.

NBC Dallas are now reporting that police investigating Holder are considering he had “at least one accomplice.”

4. Gallagher Has Been Sexually Assaulted

According to the affidavit, Gallagher had been sexually assaulted before she was murdered. The document also states that Holder could be seen pacing up and down outside his home after news came through that a body had been found nearby. In addition, it’s being reported that Holder had told neighbors that the body was Gallagher’s before an autopsy had been performed.

5. Holder Wore a T-Shirt Saying ‘Wanted’ at a Memorial for Gallagher

One neighbor told NBC Dallas about her horror at seeing Holder wearing a t-shirt saying: “Wanted” at a memorial for the slain child. Danielle Simmons said:

He showed up at her memorial with a ‘wanted’ shirt on, at the candlelight vigil with a ‘wanted’ shirt,” she said. “How disrespectful is that?

6. Holder’s Facebook Page Paints the Picture of Stoned Loner

Holder’s Facebook page is loaded with selfies as he takes pictures of himself in seemingly varying degrees of inebriation. He also seems to be involved in a troubled relationship with a girl, whom he posts about often. His profile also states that he graduated from the prestigious North Hills Private School in 2012.

7.Holder is a Fan of Violent Video Games

In his Facebook likes, it’s revealed that Holder is a fan of the violent shoot ’em up games, Halo, Skyrim, and Grand Theft Auto.

Also in his likes are the heavy-metal gods Poison and Guns ‘n’ Roses, the comedy movies, Super Troopers and Tenacious D: Pick of Destiny, as well as the TV Shows, True Blood and the serial killer show Dexter.

8. Another Neighbor Spoke of How She Tried to Keep Her Kids Away From Holder

Lisa Arnold, a woman in Saginaw who has known Holder since elementary school, told CBS Dallas:

He came over. Sometimes he seemed fine, and then he would ask my kids about drugs in the 5th grade. And that’s when I told him he needed to stay away.

Arnold also mentioned that she had spoken to Holder after Gallagher’s murder and that he seemed “casual, as if nothing had happened.”

9. Gallagher’s Family Were Investigated

As part of the standard practice of a murder investigation, items were seized from the Gallagher household. Though police never said that they were suspects. The six-year-old lived in Saginaw with her parents, Laura and Karl Gallagher, as well as another Miles McDonnell. The three lived in a polygamous relationship.

10. A Memorial to Alanna Was Burned Down Outside the Family Home

Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

Laura Gallagher told reporters, “It has been the worst month of my life.” The family found a memorial they had set up outside their home had been burned down, their family sedan was also vandalized on July 19, reports My Fox Dallas.

Police in Saginaw released images of suspicious cars in the area around the time a memorial, with flowers and teddy bears dedicated to Gallagher, was burned. The family car, which had been searched by police previously, was also burned.