Fort Worth police are searching for the people in a car involved in a shooting last Wednesday that hurt six young individuals and shocked the community.
One or more suspects fired at a gathering in front of a building at Miramar Apartments in the 3000 block of Las Vegas Trail. Fort Worth police have not caught the suspect vehicle, as spokesperson Bradley Perez told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The case is still being investigated. identified The Fort Worth Police Department has not arrested anyone, as spokesperson Bradley Perez told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The case is still under investigation.
According to the Fort Worth Police Department, officers arrived at the shooting scene at 7:38 p.m. and, together with personnel from the Fort Worth Fire Department and MedStar, started helping the injured people. All but one — a 14-year-old whose right leg had been grazed by a bullet — were taken to the hospital. arrived The people injured in this shooting ranged from 3 to 19 years old and had varying severity of wounds, according to the Dallas Express.
The children injured in this shooting were between 3 and 19 and had varying severity of wounds, according to the Dallas Express. covered by According to Druscilla Rodriguez, whose children were shot that evening, the shooting came out of nowhere, turning a scene of laughter among neighbors into one of horror and chaos..
As recalled by Druscilla Rodriguez, whose children were shot that evening, the shooting came out of nowhere, turning a scene of laughter among neighbors into one of horror and chaos.
“I ran out to get my son, threw him to the ground, but he was already hit,” Rodriguez said. told NBC 5 DFW.
However, 6-year-old Ka’deon’s injuries — bullets to the femur bone and right leg — were less severe than those of his 3-year-old sister, Me’chelle.
“When I ran over to pick her up, when I lifted her, she just started gushing out blood from two different wounds,” Rodriguez remembered. “I thought that was the last time that I would see my baby’s eyes open.”
The bullets from the vehicle hit the toddler’s liver and right kidney, puncturing a main blood vessel. She lost her kidney and remains in a coma in stable condition.
A GoFundMe A fund has been set up for the family as they try to cover medical expenses and move to a safer area.
“My kids are traumatized. They don’t want to go home. Some of my children don’t want to be outside, they’re scared to go outside and play,” Rodriguez said, according to NBC 5.
The shooting was shocking for at least two reasons: first, because the victims were children, and second, because of the claimed significant decrease in violent crime in Fort Worth.
“The kids didn’t do anything to anyone,” Octavius Tucker, who lives next door to Rodriguez, said, per NBC 5. However, he admitted that the area was known for its gang activity. said, per NBC 5. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the area had a reputation for gang activity.
The day after the shooting, Fort Worth City Council Member Michael Crain called the incident a “tragedy” but said it was “not in line with the overall trend of crime reduction in the area,” per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“While crime has been high here, we’ve invested in the technology and the assets. And really in the neighborhood and the people,” Crain said, according to NBC 5. “Is there a lot more work to do? Absolutely.”
In the city as a whole, Fort Worth has seen a decrease in crimes against persons, with 53 in March 2023 compared to 32 in March 2024, according to statistics from the Fort Worth Police Department. For the first quarter of the year, robberies decreased by 12.4% year over year, while homicides have dropped by 55.6%. Investigations related to gangs also fell by 57.8% over the same period. data In comparison to Dallas, where there is not enough officers to control crime, 6,263 crimes against individuals were reported in the first quarter of 2024.
However, a more noticeable difference can be observed between Downtown Dallas and Fort Worth’s city center, which is patrolled by a special neighborhood police unit and private security guards. committed Fort Worth’s District 3, where the shooting occurred, also ranks low in terms of violent crime, with 323 crimes against individuals reported in the first quarter of 2024 compared to District 8’s 556 and District 11’s 462. discrepancy Despite this, the impression among Fort Worth community members is that crime remains a significant issue, especially for black residents of the city.
“It’s noticed that it’s in poor communities where most of these mass shootings occur. But we’re not taking action to address the issues in the black community, and we’re not taking action to reduce poverty. So if you're not addressing the root causes of the issues, then you’re just dealing with a much larger problem,” said Pastor Kyev Tatum, who organized a prayer circle for the victims, according to NBC 5.
Tatum suggested community-led projects, such as his work with Fort Worth youth, to make lasting changes. He described the relationships between city leaders and black communities as “transactional” instead of “relational,” according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“We don’t want crime in our community any more than anyone else does,” he added.
Just like in Dallas, violent crime in Dallas unfairly affects black and Hispanic communities. For example, as of May 6, 48 out of 72 murder victims this year were black, and 19 were Hispanic.
The Fort Worth Police Department does not publicly release demographic data on the victims of violent crime.
If anyone has information about the recent drive-by shooting on Las Vegas Trail, they are encouraged to call detectives at 817-392-4222. covered by No paraphrasing is done.No paraphrasing is done.
No paraphrasing is done.
No paraphrasing is done.
