A shooting that took place January 31 behind the Kaufman County Courthouse Annex in Kaufman at 8:50 a.m, does not appear to be random. Kaufman County Assistant DA Mark Hasse was gunned down by two assailants Thursday morning after parking his car behind the Annex. Multiple shots were fired after Hasse exited his vehicle. The gunmen are still on the loose. Sources close to the investigation now say that they are looking into a connection between a case or cases involving the Aryan Brotherhood that DA Hasse was working on.
A shooting that took place January 31 behind the Kaufman County Courthouse Annex in Kaufman at 8:50 a.m, does not appear to be random. Kaufman County Assistant DA Mark Hasse was gunned down by two assailants Thursday morning after parking his car behind the Annex. Multiple shots were fired after Hasse exited his vehicle. The gunmen are still on the loose. Sources close to the investigation now say that they are looking into a connection between a case or cases involving the Aryan Brotherhood that DA Hasse was working on.
According to inForney.com sources, Mark Hasse was aware that his life was in danger and was reported to have carried a handgun on his hip for protection. He was known to always scope out his surroundings when entering or exiting his car and the courthouse. Despite his heightened awareness, he was ambushed this morning by two gunmen wearing black, and possibly wearing tactical vests.
DA Hasse did tell friends in previous months that he felt his life could be in jeopardy due to multiple cases he recently had in front of the Grand Jury. A number of the cases involved one particular suspect that had connections to the Aryan Brotherhood in Van Zandt County. The DOJ also issued a press release today about another Aryan Brotherhood case that Hasse had worked on, which resulted in convictions. (Read that press release here.)
A friend of DA Hasse said this, “Mark was one of those people that when you meet him one time, he leaves such an impression that you'll never forget him. He was a really good guy and he cared about people and loved his job. Even knowing how his life would end, he still would have went to work every day.”
Kaufman DA Mike McLelland said this about Hasse, “Kaufman County, the State of Texas, and my office have suffered a devastating loss today.” He said that Mark Hasse will be sorely missed by everyone and that he was, “A stellar prosecutor and friend.” McLelland wants the suspects to know this, “We're gonna find you.”
If you have any information in this case, please contact the Kaufman County Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-877-847-7522. There is a $74,000.00 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case. The amount has grown throughout the day thanks to generous businesses in Kaufman County.
Mathew Richards also contributed to this article.
