Me. The bullet shot me in the head and it went down. Lord jesus, help me. Oh, my god. It came out of nowhere, a sweet stayathome mom from a Strong Family of faith shot point blank at her own garage door. My dads collapsed on the ground. It was very traumatic to see. A very emotional time. Her survival seemed like a miracle. I did not know if i would live. Was this awful random crime or did someone want her dead . That was mistry number 1. Someone was out there. We were scared. A secret 1600 miles away. There were several Text Messages. Slowly snowballing. It was a punch in the gut. Mystery number 3 . Who would they turn out to be. What did this lady do . Fate, temptation, and a twist the size of texas. Lets be very clear. Justice needs to be served. I dont think it has been. Go to buy their dreams. Carrollton, texas, just north of dallas is a kind of plays with the upwardly mobile go to by their dreams. The schools are good. Golf courses. The landscape, and churches are more ubiquitous than starbucks. Theres not a lot of Violent Crime in that area. Its a great area to raise kids and a family. Travel least 100 miles or so and you enter the piney woods of east texas. Jobs are not as plentiful here. Dreams are deferred and some keep bail bondsman on speed dial. The people we are dealing with here are poor. A lot of drugs. A lot of methamphetamine out there. Different cultures worlds apart and yet one summer, those two worlds collided in a most unlikely way. This is a story of that summer when money seemed to falllike tickertape on the piney woods. And influent Carrollton Family experienced the, Violent Crime that always happened somewhere else. God, help me. Yes, maam. I need you to call me immediately. Your mom is in the hospital with a Gunshot Wound and im like, what . We look at each other and we say we cannot make this up. Our story begins in august 2012. Can you believe it . 100 degrees again this afternoon. It was a kind of heat that melts asphalt and has everyone searching the sky for some sign of mercy. In carrollton, 52yearold frank howard was a sweating it. Frank was an accountant. Life was good and Getting Better by the day. I took on a new client, probably in 2009. Very wealthy . Yes. What came along with that . The perks . The wealthy client had his own airplanes and for the first time, probably, flying around in private planes. Going to cowboy games. As they say in texas, frank howard was standing in high cotton. I was still the same guy but doing fun things as well. Frank could come a long way since his days as a preachers son growing up in south texas. Conservative upbringing. No drinking or cussing or ive never been to the dance. The school prom, never did that kind of stuff but at the same time wanting to be down to earth. Very honest and tried to be the best person you can be. Solid values to last a lifetime, but it wasnt all smooth sailing. In college, frank had a brief marriage that ended in divorce. Eventually, he fell in love with a girl from his church. Her name was nancy shore. A brunette with dazzling blue eyes. It was a great time. I look back at that and think it was a good time. Franks father married the happy couple and two years later they had their first child, a daughter they named ashley. That was not an easy birth. No. There were problems. There were complications. She spent the first 10 days of her life in the Neonatal Unit of the hospital. It was a close call and one that seemed to deepen and enrich their faith. Soon, the family group to include a son and another daughter. Growing up was great. I had a wonderful older sister and older brother who helped guide me through stuff. Obviously, a wonderful mom and dad. Ashley said whatever the Howard Family did, they did together. Both our parents did choir in church. When they needed a family, oh, get the howards, they will come and bring the kids. We were always together and always a family. We went all their events. They were always busy and doing something. Whether soccer and anything in the fine arts, musically. You almost sound like leave it to beaver. We joke that we were the beavers. We would have game nights. By 2012, those days were gone. Frank and nancy were now empty nesters. Ashley and her brother jay were married and on the run and breanna was in college in nashville. You were so close with your kids. Was hard as one by one they started leaving the nest and going to college . It was. I am proud of them but it was difficult. Change is difficult. Nancy was often home alone. Franks work with his new client, wealthy defense contractor, had him traveling to florida, california, and even kuwait. There was a little more freedom or whatever. Like i said, a lot of it was work. I was out there trying to build it in. She was sitting at home. Still, nancy had her faith in Church Activities to fill the empty hours. In fact, thats where she had been the evening everything changed for the Howard Family. It was a saturday night, august 18, 2012. You are out of town. Yes. You got a call that something horrific has happened to nancy. Theres been a robbery at your house . Yes. I was beside myself. I did not know what was happening. And so began one of the longest nights of Frank Howards life. Coming up, a harrowing cry for help. Terror was at the door. Im like, our mother . That doesnt make sense. Like it was not real. When dateline continues. But trelegy has shown me that theres still beauty and breath to be had. Because with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open and prevents future flareups. And with one dose a day, trelegy improves Lung Function so i can breathe more freely all day and night. Trelegy wont replace a Rescue Inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Tell your doctor if you have a Heart Condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. 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After months of broiling temperatures, the afternoon of august 18, 2012 brought the welcome sound of summer rain to carrollton, texas. After months of broiling temperatures, the afternoon of august 18, 220 12, brought the welcome sound of summer rain to carrollton, texas. Shortly before 8 00 that evening, the sound of a Gunshot Split the night. 911 operator picked up the phone and heard a womans anguished cry. Lord jesus, help me. Oh, my god. Help me. The woman said she had just been shot in the head by an intruder in her garage. Ive been shot. Please help me. The caller was franks wife, nancy howard. She somehow managed to drag herself in the house and despite taken a bullet to the head, she was able to get critical details to the 911 dispatcher. How many people was a . It was just one. Oh, yes, maam, i will stay on the phone. A few minutes Later Police Officers arrived at the home. Remarkable as this sounds, nancy managed to open the front door for them. Its the police . Yes, maam. Help me. Help me. Help me. Soon, the Carrollton Police detectives michael and brian were on the case. Its incredible how she was able to give the information to the dispatcher what happened. To be able to wait for the police at the front door. This was a bloody crime scene. There was quite a bit the blood. There was a small hole above her left eye and she was struggling for breath and her vital signs were slipping. As paramedics rushed her to the hospital in dallas, The Detective turned his attention to the crime scene. You could see where she had gone through the house. The garage in the hallway leading to the house were bloody. The rest of the house appeared to have been untouched. The suspects had taken nancys purse. Did you have any reason to believe this was anything other than a Burglary Combat . We had no reason to suspect it was nothing further than aggravated robbery. What details did you get from the 911 call specifically . She was able to give a suspect description of the person or shot her. White male wearing a black hat and he was in his 20s. Police officers could find no one in the neighborhood would seen or heard anything. It had been raining significantly. When it rains, people are inside. There is no witnesses and we basically had nothing to go one. No witnesses and precious little in the way of lease. They wondered if the shooting was part of a pattern of crimes in the area. It seemed unlikely, but they could not rule it out. There had been some breakins in the area . There were some breakins we were looking at to see if it was related. At this point, we were checking out everything to see if there was anything that may be related to this. There had not been any robberies are robbed at gunpoint for their property. The cops knew they had to notify nancys family but her husband was out of town. A Police Officer who belong to the Howards Church got word to their oldest daughter, ashley. A close friend of my mom saying your mom is in the hospital with a Gunshot Wound. Im like, im sorry, what . That must be the most bizarre phone call. It was and even scary or worrisome but so we couldnt cross the hurdle of where she could have been to get shot. Almost like it wasnt real . Yeah, it wasnt real. Our mother . Shes not the type of lady who would get shot. Ashley finally reached her father in california with the news. I was in South Lake Tahoe at the casino and i was taking a break. And i noticed i missed a call from my daughter. So, i stepped outside and called her back. Thats when i found out that something had happened. How does he react to the situation . He couldnt speak. He couldnt breathe. Dad, who is with you because youre not he said im going to drive to the airport. No, get someone to take you. I was crying and going crazy. I was on the phone trying to find flights out and trying to figure out what to do and how to do it and when to do it. 6 00 the next morning before frank howard could finally board a Plane Heading home. He could only imagine the nightmare that awaited him once he landed in texas. Coming up. My dad is collapsed on the ground. He was in terrible shape. As doctors race to save nancy, her family raises to her side. Who could be behind this . We are trying to figure out what happened and how it happened. We didnt have any idea. Someone was out there. Yeah. We were scared. We were scared. Back to wearing a 4xl shirt o or not being able to climb up stairs without taking a break. So im committed to golo for life. When others divide. We unite. With Real Solutions to help our kids. Like community schools. Neighborhood hubs that provide everything from Mental Health services to food pantries. Academic tutoring to prom dresses. Healthcare to after care. Community schools can wrap so much around public schools. And through meaningful partnerships with families, they become centers of their communities. Real solutions for kids and communities at aft. Org when i was your age, we never had anything like this. They become centers of their communities. What . Wifi . Wifi that works all over the house, even the basement. The basement. So i can finally throw that party. And invite shannon barnes. Dream do come true. Xfinity gives you reliable wifi with walltowall coverage on all your devices, even when everyone is online. Maybe well even get married one day. I wonder what i will be doing . Probably still living here with mom and dad. Fast reliable speeds right where you need them. Thats walltowall wifi with xfinity. Frank howard arrived home in dallas The Morning After his wife was shot. His daughter, ashley, says he looked awful when she finally saw him. Frank howard arrived home in dallas The Morning After his wife was shot. His daughter ashley says he looked awful when she finally saw him. They drove to the hospital together and by the time they got there, he could hardly walk. I hear this crash and i look back and my dad is collapsed on the ground. He was in terrible shape. Every time the monitors would be, he was jumpy. Just terrible shape. Was he in tears . Yeah. Tell me what happened the first time you saw nancy in icu . It was difficult because she was drugged up but all the family, a lot of people from the church and stop were there. Doctors told the family the bullet had entered nancys skull above her left eye and travel down through her sinuses and throat before collapsed one of her lungs. She had already had the first of many surgeries. She would lose one of her blue eyes, but she seemed to escape serious brain damage. There are tubes and wires and lines. Even though you can say she is all right, its like, it doesnt look like shes all right. There is swelling and inflammation. Things attached to her feet. It is hard to feel like, this is okay and this is right. It was very traumatic to see that happen to her. Very difficult. Very emotional time. Was she able to talk to you the first time you saw her . I dont believe so. She had tubes in her throat. She was conscious, and so she had knowledge of who we were, but she really couldnt talk or anything. While the family waited for some definitive word from the police on what happened, they filled the void with areas of the room. Everybody in the family were sitting around talking about it. We were trying to figure out what happened and how it happened. We didnt have any idea. Someone was out there. Yeah, we were scared. There have been breakins in the area . Did that cross your mind . That was one of the things that was in our mind. The detective told us there have been breakins. They had somebody who fit the general description that he was someone they knew of that had participated in some breakins in the area. The detectives were eager to talk to nancy. Shes our only witness. We had the minimal suspect description at this time. We felt it was important to confirm those details as soon as possible. While they waited for nancy to get well enough to speak, the called in frank, hoping he could fill in some of the blanks. He had confirmed she lost her left eye. No brain damage. She will lose her left eye check. But, from there it will be or cosmetic stuff. The detective asked if frank knew anyone who might want to hurt his wife. It doesnt seem like she would have in fact, everyone knew nancy had a soft spot for anyone with a sob story. Ual, he said, for her to pick up a hitchhiker or open her door to a stranger. It was not unusual, he said, for her to pick up a hitchhiker open the door to a stranger. A month or two earlier, she had done that. She just said that she would try to help them find a hotel room. Andrea canning maybe thats what happened a goodhearted woman befriended a dangerous stranger. Maybe thats what happened . A goodhearted woman befriended a dangerous stranger. The how her children thought that was a distinct possibility. That was my first thought is she probably was willing to help someone at some point and they figured out, this woman is an easy target. Could your mom be naove when it came to these people and this helping nature . Definitely. I think sometimes her willingness to see the good in everybody, it opened her up to more risk than most other people would take. Frank didnt know much because he was out of town that night. It doesnt sound like frank is able to help. He was being cooperative and confirms he sent a few texts and emails back and forth to nancy. She was going to Church Service. To confirm that, i asked if i could see his cell phone. Would you have a problem if we ran analysis . In addition to turning over cell phone, frank told the cops to let him know if they needed anything from him. He even offered money to generate leads. I mean, if theres you put up a reward or anything like that. Again. Whatever. Thats another stop. Im just saying. Obviously, money can pr