Teen shot to death on White Settlement street after exchanging words with driver
A 16-year-old boy who was walking with his brother was shot to death early Wednesday on a White Settlement street after he exchanged words with a stranger in a car, White Settlement police said.
Detectives have determined that the brothers were not acquainted with the driver of the vehicle, police said Wednesday afternoon. Based on statements obtained by investigators, the driver confronted the brothers, accusing them of trying to break into his car.
Police were still searching for the gunman, who drove off and fled the scene.
Officials with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Latroy Lewis, whose home address was listed in Haltom City, almost 20 miles from where he was shot. The brothers were staying at a motel in White Settlement less than a mile from where the shooting took place. Police believe they were staying there with a family member.
The shooting occurred about 4:45 a.m. in the 7600 block of Colton Drive in White Settlement.
The 16-year-old and his 15-year-old brother were walking in the neighborhood of Colton Drive and South Grants Lane.
A man in a white or silver four-door vehicle pulled up to the boys and exchanged words with them, police said. The man pulled out a handgun and fired at the 16-year-old, hitting him in the chest.
The man then drove west and turned onto Ozona Street, police said.
White Settlement police officers arrived on the scene first and began CPR on the boy. Paramedics arrived a short time later and took the teen to a Fort Worth hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Detectives recovered three shell casings from the scene. Police said they were waiting on the autopsy report to determine how many times the victim was shot.
Patricia Walker said Wednesday that the teen was shot in her front yard, but she was at work at the time. Her husband was home.
“He thought the sound of gunshots was the landlord working in his workshop behind the house,” Walker said. “It wasn’t until police banged on the door he found out that there had been a shooting.”
She said her husband heard seven bangs, which he later realized were the gunshots.
Walker rushed back home, worried about her young children.
When she got home, Walker said, paramedics were working on the victim, using CPR and then an AED, trying to revive him.
White Settlement Police Chief John Bevering said detectives are conducting a neighborhood canvass and they are asking anyone with an outside camera in the neighborhood where the shooting took place to contact police so they can obtain a copy of any video evidence.
This story was originally published June 16, 2021 at 9:40 AM.
