Boys ages 17 and 5 shot to death outside Fort Worth house; 18-month-old hurt: police
Two boys were shot dead and a toddler was wounded on Sunday afternoon by assailants firing outside of a house in northwest Fort Worth, police said.
The victims were shot about 2:15 p.m. in the 8500 block of Steel Dust Drive, near the intersection of Barber Ridge Trail.
A 17-year-old boy and a 5-year old boy died at a hospital, and an 18-month-old boy suffered minor injuries and is expected to survive, Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said from near the scene.
Police did not have a description of the assailants or their vehicle when Noakes spoke to reporters about 5:15 p.m.
Noakes said that police were not certain of the boys’ relationship and do not know what the boys were doing outside at the time they were shot. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office had not released the deceased victims’ names.
The boys were outside of the house when the assailants arrived in a vehicle and opened fire on them, Noakes said. Multiple cartridge casings were ejected onto the street.
“We’re seeing violent crime on the rise across the country, and unfortunately we’re seeing violent crime here in Fort Worth in numbers we don’t want to see,” Noakes said. “But when you have children — when you have children who are murdered completely senselessly, it adds just another level to that tragedy we’re all experiencing.
“That 17-year-old will never graduate, that 5-year-old will never graduate from kindergarten, that 18-month-old will have physical and emotional scars that may stay with him the rest of his life,” he said.
“I can tell you this much,” Noakes said. “The Fort Worth Police Department is going to put every resource necessary to this investigation to do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice as soon as possible.”
Beyond the victims, other people were at the house when the shooting occurred, but the number was not clear.
Police are investigating whether the homicides are gang-related.
Police asked anyone with any surveillance video to share it with detectives. Call 817-392-4336 with information and reference report number 220068041, Noakes said.
This story was originally published August 28, 2022 at 3:18 PM.
