Paranoid teen ‘wanted to kick door in, shoot someone.’ He did, Fort Worth-area police say
Last month, a paranoid 17-year-old told a friend “he wanted to kick someone’s door in and shoot someone,” according to an arrest warrant.
Days later, Roel Cano Jr. did just that at a North Richland Hills apartment in his complex, the warrant stated
Peggy Franklin, 66, was killed in the April 24 shooting and another woman was critically wounded, according to the warrant obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Thursday. A 12-year-old child and another juvenile who were in the apartment were not injured.
The 12-year-old reported seeing the suspect’s arm, holding a black handgun, protruding from behind a wall after a burglar broke into their apartment through a back patio glass door.
That burglar was later identified by North Richland Hills detectives as Cano.
Cano, who lived in the same complex as Franklin, was arrested on April 28 after a warrant was issued for him.
The family of Peggy Franklin could not be reached Friday for comment.
The teen also was wanted on a warrant for endangering his 5-year-old brother on April 9 at their North Richland Hills apartment.
The warrant written by North Richland Hills Detective B. Goen provided these events that led up to the shooting:
On Feb. 15, Cano shot himself in the leg in his North Richland Hills apartment on Willowcrest Drive, the same complex where Franklin lived.
His sister and a friend told detectives that Cano started acted differently after that shooting, more “paranoid.”
In one incident, his sister told police, Cano would refuse to do things or tell her not to do things, stating “they” would see or hear them.
A friend of Cano’s also reported that Cano had told him that he wanted to “see what it was like to die.”
On April 9, Cano had returned to the family’s North Richland Hills apartment “under the influence,” but family members did not know if it was drugs, alcohol or a combination. Cano acted “hostile,” blaming his mother for things he had done or had happened to him, according to the warrant.
At one point, Cano was seated on a sofa when he began striking the sofa with his fists. His 5-year-old brother ran by Cano, who reached around his sibling’s neck, stood and lifted his brother off the floor by his neck, the warrant states.
Cano did not say anything, but he just stood there holding his brother by the neck with an angry look, according to the warrant.
A few seconds later, Cano released his brother.
On April 24, North Richland Hills police received a report of a burglary in progress at an apartment on Willowcrest Drive.
The caller said children inside of the apartment had called her stating someone had forced their way into the apartment.
The children and the woman who was critically wounded could not provide a description of the burglar.
During the investigation, Cano was identified as a possible suspect because witnesses told detectives he had been seen with a handgun at the complex.
Cano was in the Tarrant County Jail on Friday in lieu of $1,753,000 bond.
He was charged Friday with endangering a child, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.
More charges are expected to filed against the teen.
