Man argued with girlfriend before committing Fort Worth murder-suicide, police say
The murder-suicide in south Fort Worth on Wednesday morning that left two people dead and a woman injured was preceded by an argument between a man and the woman he was dating, police said in an email on Friday.
As the woman’s daughter tried to calm the fight, the man shot both of the women and then himself, according to Officer Buddy Calzada, a police spokesman. The mother, Blanca Estela Rodriguez, 41, died inside of their home, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. She suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen.
The daughter, who’s 21, had more minor injuries and was able to get to a nearby home to call 911, police said.
Cory Lashaun James, 41, died inside of a hospital around 9 a.m. that same day of a gunshot wound to the head, the medical examiner reported. His death was classified as a suicide.
James and Rodriguez both lived in the home in the 900 block of East Davis Avenue where the shooting occurred, according to medical examiner records. The relationship between James and Rodriguez’ daughter is unclear. Calzada said the two 41-year-olds were in a “dating relationship.”
He told the Star-Telegram on Friday morning there were no other updates to share.
The previously unreleased information sheds more light on an incident that rocked a south Fort Worth neighborhood where residents said they have already become accustomed to a certain level of violence. It was the first of two homicides that occurred on Wednesday, with a fatal stabbing on Beaumont Street later in the day.
Residents of East Davis Avenue said they could hear gunshots in the early morning hours Wednesday but didn’t think much of it, since the sound of gunfire is common.
The initial call came in as a suicide attempt, according to a police call log. Throughout the morning, officers walked in and out of the house in white coverall suits, and at one point a woman wheeled a stretcher into the garage. Small crowds of people gathered behind yellow police tape to try to figure out what was going on.
Jason Williams, a 32-year-old who drove to the scene Wednesday morning, told the Star-Telegram he knew a man named Cory who lived in the home, and he was his barber. A few men standing with him in the street indicated the man was their barber too.
“It’s crazy,” Williams said.
