On the afternoon of Saturday, April 5, 2025, 30-year-old Zakary Michael Jerke was found at the Temple Gun Club off FM 438 Loop in Temple, Texas, with a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency responders from the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, Temple Police, Troy Fire Department, and Temple EMS transported him to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple; he died there on Sunday, April 6, 2025.

Jerke was a military veteran who served four years in the United States Marine Corps and five years in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of Sergeant, with overseas tours in Japan, South Korea, and Poland. After his honorable discharge he trained as a welder and worked with Z Modular in Killeen. Family remember him as honorable and kind; he is survived by his mother Christy Parnell, father Jan Jerke, siblings, and extended family. A memorial service took place on May 5, 2025, at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen.

Authorities say the circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation and have not determined whether it was accidental, self-inflicted, or the result of foul play. The Bell County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division and the Texas Rangers are handling the case; an autopsy was ordered and is being performed at the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office. If anyone has information about what happened at the Temple Gun Club that afternoon, please share what you know.