Fort Worth targets illegal gunfire after spike in arrests
The city of Fort Worth is taking proactive measures to stop people from popping off and injuring their neighbors with stray bullets.
It’s proposing to spend $97,000 on an advertising campaign to raise awareness of the harms caused by illegal gunfire, as well as the consequences of committing an offense.
The campaign comes after the city saw a 28.54% increase in arrests related to illegal gunfire with the average age of suspects ranging from 16 to 23, according to a city staff presentation at the April 7 City Council work session.
The tone of the campaign will be firm emphasizing these kinds of shootings are not celebratory, but rather violent crimes, Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia said speaking at the April 7 work session.
Garcia noted illegal shootings spike around holidays like Fourth of July and New Year's Eve, but emphasized this is a year-round problem.
He pointed to the March 25 officer involved shooting of 33-year-old Alejandro Serrano, who was shown on surveillance video firing multiple shots into the street near the intersection of Bonita Drive and Isbell Court.
The focus of the campaign will be on awareness and education on the consequences and impact of these shootings, city communications director Sana Syed said during the April 7 council work session.
She shared graphics showing the punishment for illegal shootings in which no one is injured is up to a $4,000 fine and a year in prison.
Syed also showed graphics showing a bullet could travel as far as three miles from where its fired, causing damage to homes or injuries to residents.
The city’s ad campaign will run from May 2026 to January 2026, and will start with a focus on Facebook ads targeted at those living mostly inside Loop 820, according to the presentation.
The city will buy ad space on the music streaming app Spotify during the first half of the campaign, and expand to YouTube in October as part of an effort to target younger residents, Syed said.
The city also plans to spend around $7,000 on newspaper advertisements to educate people on how to report these crimes, she said.
The newspaper advertisements would likely target older residents, Syed said after being questioned by District 9 council member Elizabeth Beck on the number of teenagers reading newspapers.
The city also plans to partner with the Fort Worth school district and community groups like the YMCA to raise awareness among parents and teenagers, according to the presentation.
The campaign received praise from multiple members of the City Council whose main feedback was to reach out to more school districts besides Fort Worth.
District 6 council member Mia Hall, whose district covers the southwestern portion of the city, asked the for a collaboration with Crowley schools, while District 4 council member Charles Lauersdorf, who represents the northeastern section of the city, asked for a collaboration with the Keller school district.
Beck also asked Garcia if the police department had the capacity to work with nonprofits involved in gun safety and proper storage.
Garcia responded that his department is already looking into messaging around safe firearm storage noting that firearms stolen out of cars and homes contribute to the problem.
.jpg)