Teen arrested, is charged with shooting White Settlement 14-year-old on Oct. 23
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A 17-year-old was arrested and charged on Saturday in the Oct. 23 shooting of a 14-year-old in White Settlement, according to a news release from police.
Mason Stopps was arrested early Saturday morning after police said he shot a 14-year-old high school student in the 100 block of Ralph Street, according to police. Stopps is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Police arrived at the scene to find the victim with a gunshot wound to his leg, according to the release. He was taken to a hospital where he remains while recovering.
Police said investigators determined, based on shell casing, the teenager was shot with a long rifle, like an AR-15. No weapon has been recovered.
Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that other teenagers were involved, according to the release.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the 14-year-old identified Stopps as the shooter to officers when they arrived. He told police Stopps had two friends with him and that Stopps drives a silver pickup.
The victim told police Stopps and the two others arrived at the address carrying AR-15 style rifles while the 14-year-old was in an RV in the back yard, according to the release. He told officers Stopps fired at the victim as he was jumping out the driver-side front door of the RV. He believed he was targeted because he was talking to Stopps’ ex-girlfriend.
Surveillance video reviewed by police showed a silver pickup park in a driveway across the street from the victim’s house, according to the affidavit. The video showed several people exit the truck and head to the victim’s house. Detectives heard what sounded like four gunshots in the audio of the video. After the gunshots, the video showed four people running from the house to the pickup.
The victim told police he and Stopps had previously fought at a house party to which Stopps was not invited but showed up anyway, according to the affidavit. The victim said that at the party, the victim punched Stopps and Stopps pulled a knife and tried, unsuccessfully, to stab him. He did not report it to police.
Police said in the news release that Stopps’ parents have been cooperating with investigators and assisted with his arrest. He was arrested in a traffic stop in Fort Worth facilitated by his parents. He was on the phone with police the whole time and was arrested without incident.
Stopps is being held on $75,000 bond at the Tarrant County Jail, according to jail records.