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The Eric Factor: Well wishes for friend and colleague shot in Texas

On Wednesday during News 8 at 11, I got word that a former colleague and friend was shot outside his TV station near Waco, Texas. There aren’t really many...

He and I worked together on the same weather team at WREX back in the mid 2000s. He got his start in the broadcasting field in Rockford after he graduated from Northern Illinois University. Through social media and mutual friends, we Huskies were able to keep tabs on one another as jobs took him to Yuma, Arizona, Ft. Smith, Arkansas, New Orleans, and Central Texas.

There was uncertainty and worry all over the weather community as the news spread on Wednesday. Broadcast Meteorologists are all linked together in a sort of fraternity. Everyone really looks out for one another. Luckily, the news is positive this morning and he's in stable condition, recovering.

His wife Heather is also a graduate of Northern Illinois University's Meteorology program. She is a Meteorologist at the same station and reports "I am happy to say that Patrick is in stable condition. Doctors continue to tell me how well he's doing considering the multiple gunshot wounds. Police tell me that if it wasn't for his smarts to hurry up and drive off and flag down construction workers, it could have been a whole different story. He is truly my hero."

There's no word on whether the person responsible is someone with a connection to Patrick, the TV station, or whether this was a random act of violence. That makes it scary for a lot of us who work in the public eye every day. I know my sense of awareness was raised a bit this morning. Sadly, violence against television news people isn't new. Some of us on the morning crew talked about Jodi Huisentruit this morning. She was the news anchor in Mason City, Iowa who went missing on her way to work in June 1995.

Luckily in this case, the outcome is expected to be positive.

The Eric Factor: Well wishes for friend and colleague shot in Texas

I hope he recovers and is back on the air as soon as possible! Prayers to his wife Heather and their families for quick answers and a peaceful holiday ahead.

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