Johnny Amigo: Real Man or an Amarillo Urban Legend

If you grew up in Amarillo in the late 80s and 90s you probably heard about a man who would drive around and shoot at you.

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His name was Johnny Amigo.

The story is that Johnny Amigo lived near Amarillo High School and had a van.   If Johnny didn't like you or you annoyed him he would shoot at you.

It was said that back in the 90s Johnny Amigo would randomly shoot at the AHS baseball players practicing outside.

Every good urban legend has to start with a story.

However, this story doesn't seem real because if there were a man randomly shooting at high school kids, then that man would end up in jail fast.

In truth, Johnny Amigo wasn't an urban legend.   He did shoot at people with a BB gun and even chased people around in his van.     Either way getting shot with a BB gun can be quite painful if you are hit in just the right spot.

We didn't call him Johnny Amigo we called him Bush. Would go by there every Friday and Saturday night and yell "Bush".  This guy would throw axes, bricks, and cinder blocks at us.  Other times he would chase us in his van.

It was like a horror movie, my cousin drove a Chevette, we were driving by Johnny Amigo's house, and the car died as we pulled up to his house.  He started coming for us, and luckily the car started and we got the heck out of there.  We thought we were going to die.

The true story is that Johnny Amigo was a Vietnam Veteran who suffered from PTSD, which included hallucinations.   Within those delusions, Johnny Amigo shot at people from his home with a BB gun, and chased people in his van, and yes, the police visited his home on several occasions.

Is Johnny Amigo still alive?

Stories of Johnny Amigo have faded,  it is possible that if Johnny was real, then he's either passed on or is laying low, for now.   Just be careful if you are driving around Amarillo High School at night you might have a run-in with Johnny Amigo.