DALLAS (KYTX/CBSDFW.COM) – Four people were killed and four others were wounded Wednesday night in two separate but related shootings not far apart in Dallas and DeSoto, police said.

The suspect identified as Erbie Bowser, an all-state football player at Robert E. Lee High School. He graduated in 1987 and signed to play football at Texas Christian University.

The first shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. at a home in the in the 7100 block of Long Canyon Trail in Dallas. Authorities said that two people there were shot and killed, and two more people were wounded.

The gunman then moved about seven miles to a home in the 100 block of Galleria Drive in DeSoto. There, he tossed some type of explosive device into the home, police said, before opening fire again. Another two people were killed and two others wounded.

Victims that survived the Dallas shooting were taken to Parkland Hospital and Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Their current conditions are not known. The conditions of the two surviving DeSoto victims — an 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy — are also not known. They were transported to Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.

Neighbors of the DeSoto home described the loud boom from the explosive device. “We thought it was coming from upstairs, because the kids are always upstairs making noise,” said Tommy Johnson. “I went up and asked, ‘Did y’all hear anything?’ and one of my daughters said it came from outside. So, I peeped out the front and that’s when I saw a bunch of officers walking down the sidewalk about 10 houses up.”

 Bowser was also a former Dallas Mavericks ManiAACs dancer and former special education teacher in the Mesquite Independent School District. Bowser worked for the district from December 2001 to March 2010 at Mesquite Academy and Berry Middle School. He had also been a coach at West Mesquite High School.

Bowser was arrested at the scene in DeSoto. Charges against him are still pending. Family members stated that Bowser was looking for his ex-girlfriend at both of the houses.