Fort Worth police retract post that misidentified car wash shooting suspect
Editor’s note: This story was updated on June 11 after police retracted their post.
Police have retracted a May 26 social media post that sought information about a teenager who they misidentified as a suspect in a May 19 shooting at a north Fort Worth car wash.
“The individual pictured in the post is not a suspect and should not have been identified or labeled as such,” the Fort Worth Police Department said Thursday, June 11, on Facebook. “After further investigation, detectives determined the individual was not involved in the offense. We recognize the seriousness of publicly identifying someone as a suspect in a criminal investigation.”
The Star-Telegram reached out to Fort Worth police on May 27 to ask about the initial post after a family member of the teen in the photo told a reporter that he’d been incorrectly identified. Police had already taken the post down, but it wasn’t clear why they’d removed it.
The teen’s mother also contacted the Star-Telegram by email on May 28 to say her son was not the suspect.
Fort Worth police said at the time that they weren’t able to comment due to “an active and ongoing investigation.”
In Thursday’s post, the department said they are “taking steps to ensure better review procedures for future public identifications.”
Car wash incident
Officers were dispatched to White Water Express Car Wash at 8301 N. Beach St. about 8:40 p.m. on May 19 after a 911 caller said he’d been shot. According to police, the victim had confronted someone who was trying to steal his vehicle. The gunman shot the 32-year-old victim in the leg and ran from the scene.
The injured man was expected to recover, and police said the investigation into the incident is ongoing. No arrests have been announced.
This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 1:51 PM.
