‘She actually was my savior’: Fiance of woman killed in Fort Worth July 4 shooting speaks
A Fort Worth makeup artist was among the victims killed in two separate shootings in the city on the Fourth of July, the woman’s fiance said in an interview with the Star-Telegram on Friday.
Tasha Hymond, 39, and her fiance, Tommy Howard, were celebrating the holiday at the home of his parents when gunfire broke out Thursday night on Castleman Street, Howard said.
Howard described Hymond as “the sweetest person on this earth” and one of the best makeup artists in the city, saying she was loved by her over 1,000 clients throughout Fort Worth.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our beloved owner Latasha,” Hymond’s business, Slay by Shae, said in a statement, adding that the business is temporarily closed.
After his previous fiancee died of cancer four years ago, Howard said, Hymond helped him get through a lot.
“Everybody loved her,” he said. “She was cheerful, she you know, she was just a good spirit. ... She actually was my savior.”
Tributes to Hymond poured in on social media throughout Friday.
“Rest in paradise to my baby,” Howard wrote alongside a picture of the two.
According to police, the shooting started after a crowd of 200 to 300 people took over multiple blocks on Castleman Street, including some who shot fireworks at neighboring houses.
Howard believes the shooting began after drivers started doing donuts in the intersection of Castleman and Comanche streets.
According to Howard, it appeared that nearby residents got tired of the noise from the cars and someone started shooting. Everybody outside began running and ducking, he said.
Hymond had gone into his mother’s house to use the bathroom and had just come outside when the gunfire began and she was shot, Howard said.
Hymond had been livestreaming the events at the block party on social media prior to the shooting.
In one video on her Facebook page, a firework explodes just feet away from a police cruiser with lights on.
According to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, a man who was taken to a hospital from the Castleman Street scene also died of a gunshot wound. Marcus Martin Jr. of San Diego, California, was pronounced dead early Friday at Texas Health Harris Methodist from a gunshot wound to the back. The medical examiner’s website was recently updated to give Martin’s age as 19. His death was ruled a homicide.
At least two additional shooting victims from the east Fort Worth neighborhood were taken to hospitals and were expected to survive, according to police.
Police believe there are multiple suspects in the case, but have not identified persons of interest. Anyone with information is urged to contact Tarrant County Crime Stoppers. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Howard said that Fourth of July parties have been held in the neighborhood for years and he couldn’t remember any previous incidents of violence.
In a separate shooting late Thursday night, two young children and a man were killed when another man began shooting during a fight that broke out at a car wash in south Fort Worth, police said. The suspect and two additional victims were injured in an exchange of gunfire. Fireworks debris was littered on the Crystal Clean Car Wash property, at 7524 W. Cleburne Road, where a July Fourth celebration had been going on prior to the shooting. Neighbors said people frequently gathering at the car wash at night has made the area feel unsafe.
This story was originally published July 5, 2024 at 4:02 PM.
