Shooting touches Erath

ERATH - Rachel Hoffpauir was in bed Sunday morning when she received a phone call from her son, Dylon. She did not think much of the phone call until he began speaking.
“There was a massive shooting in Orlando last night, and I am OK,” Dylon told his mom. Her heart dropped but then she regrouped and was excited to hear her son was alive.
Rachel had not heard about what had taken place in Orlando. She had not turned on the TV and been swamped with coverage of the shooting that killed 50 people and injured 53.
Had she woken up and turned on the TV and learned of the shooting and not heard from her son, she admits she would have probably gone crazy. She would have been calling and calling.
“I thought I could handle it, but knowing how I am as a mother, I would have went into hysteria,” she said Sunday afternoon. “I have not seen him since he left in January. I would have been on the first flight to Orlando. But I am glad to know he is safe.”
For the last few months Dylon, a 2010 Erath High graduate, has been working at Disney World near Orlando. He lives about 20 minutes from the Pulse Night Club where the shooting occurred. Just the week before, Dylon was at the club.
Like his mother’s phone, Dylon’s phone was blowing up with texts from friends from Erath, college and in Orlando Sunday morning. He had worked that night and went home instead of going out.
Friends and relatives were sending him texts asking if he was alright. As of Sunday afternoon, he did not know of any close friends who were missing or possibly been shot. His friends knew of people who were missing.
The shooting is said to be a hate crime by Omas Mateen, who is a native of New York.
After watching the broadcasts on TV all day Sunday, Dylon said, “It makes me sad that there is that much hate towards others. It was a hate crime. It is hard to imagine someone hating a group of people.”
As the morning turned to afternoon, Dylon’s mother began receiving phone calls and texts from local friends and family asking her if Dylon was alright. By noon, she was overwhelmed and turned off the TV and began doing other things around the house. “I am visiting friends to try and get my mind off it.”
Rachel is the mother of four boys, three who live on their own. She is a recent widow. She would love to have her four sons live with her as her way to protect them. But, as a mother, she also knows she has to let them fly on their own. Dylon living in Orlando is hard because it’s so far away. The shooting is not going to make it any better.
“Dylon is where he wants to be and he is happy. I am leaning on my faith. Dylon is going to be OK.”