Civilian employee shot in eye on burglary call; Fort Worth police search for armed man
There is a major police presence near Basswood Boulevard and North Riverside Drive in north Fort Worth after a civilian employee was reportedly shot in the eye while responding to a call.
Police are searching for a suspect who could be inside a house or outdoors.
Fort Worth police said in a post on social media that officers are working at the scene of a possible barricaded person in a residential neighborhood near the 3500 block of North Juliet Lane.
Police also said they are searching for a male subject in the area who may be on foot and is possibly armed.
Residents who live or who are currently in the Summerfields subdivision located to the north of Basswood and N. Riverside are asked to please stay securely indoors.
Shots were fired while the Fort Worth Police Department was investigating a burglary call in that neighborhood, police said. Mayor Mattie Parker told KTVT-TV that a civilian response unit employee was wounded in the eye but “is miraculously doing well.” Parker said the injured man was in stable condition and talking while waiting for ophthalmology care.
A spokesperson for John Peter Smith Hospital confirmed that an injured person was brought to JPS from the shooting but could not release further details.
Multiple law enforcement agencies including Fort Worth SWAT officers are currently on scene of the possible standoff.
Schools nearby are on lockdown, and police have asked residents to avoid the area. Several roadblocks are in place.
North Riverside Elementary, Fossil Hill Middle School, Basswood Elementary and Vista Ridge Middle School went into lockdown shortly after noon following the shooting, according to a Keller ISD spokesperson. North Riverside went into a shelter in place lockdown for about 45 minutes, and the other three had instruction continue as normal, but no students were let outside the building and no one is allowed in. North Riverside is now out of the shelter in place and in the same lockdown as the other three schools.
According to the Fort Worth Police Department’s website, employees who are part of the Civilian Response Unit are unarmed.
“The Civilian Response Unit was formed in 2021 in response to the Police Department’s desire to provide the citizens of the city with better service, along with the realization that every call for service does not require a police officer to respond,” the website states. “These civilian employees are not armed and do not respond to calls where a suspect is on the scene or likely to return. Their role is to investigate calls, collect evidence (including fingerprinting) and write police reports.”
A police spokesperson is expected to release more information to reporters near the scene of the shooting.
Star-Telegram staff writers Shambhavi Rimal and Samuel O’Neal contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 1:01 PM.
