Teens gunned down at party may not have been the targets in Fort Worth fatal shooting
Two teens who were fatally shot early Saturday at a Fort Worth Valentine’s weekend party may not have been the intended targets.
A man who is related to the woman who hosted the party told WFAA-TV that an argument began after a group of people who weren’t invited arrived at the woman’s home in the 1100 block of East Baltimore Avenue. One or more people then began shooting.
A 13-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man who were fatally shot were not involved in the fight, the man told WFAA-TV, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s media partner.
Killed in the shooting were Kory Smith, 13, of Fort Worth, and 19-year-old Simieon Joseph, of Crowley, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office website.
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Smith died from gunshot wound to his head about 8 p.m. Saturday after being treated at John Peter Smith Hospital. Joseph died at the scene from a gunshot wound to his back, and both deaths have been ruled homicides, according to the medical examiner’s website.
Fort Worth police officers responded to the shooting early Saturday morning, about midnight. Homicide detectives are investigating but have not announced any arrests or a motive for the shooting.
A witness told the Star-Telegram on Monday that he had called 911 about 11:45 p.m. Friday after hearing a loud boom.
“It sounded like someone slamming a door real hard,” said the man, who asked that his name not be published.
The witness had not even been aware of a party in the neighborhood until the loud noise.
Minutes later, the man said, he heard a volley of gunshots.
“It was more than a dozen shots,” the man said.
The witness later saw the wounded 19-year-old in a side yard, and he was told the younger victim was at another location.
The 13-year-old was a seventh-grader at Crowley Middle School, KXAS-TV reported.
A GoFundMe account has been established for funeral expenses for the 19-year-old victim.
Joseph was a 2021 graduate of Crowley High School, his mother told WFAA.
“They didn’t just take my baby — they took someone else’s 13-year-old baby,” Melody Joseph said. “And that is devastating.”
On the GoFundMe page, Joseph’s mother wrote that her son was “so talented.”
“He loved to sing and compose music,” she said. “He was a praying young man and loved everyone, even strangers.”
Melody Joseph wrote that her son “would give his last dollar and the last piece of food from his plate.”
“They just didn’t take my son,” the mother told WFAA. “They took a friend.”
Anyone with information on this case should call Fort Worth police at 817-392-4330.
This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 12:27 PM.
