‘Our message is about unity.’ Fort Worth leaders react to shooting in Como neighborhood
An early Sunday morning shooting that injured eight people in west Fort Worth’s Como neighborhood will not impact the community’s 70th annual Independence Day parade set for Monday morning, according to event organizers.
That’s because the violence outside an old car wash on Horne Street has little to do with the organized July 4 celebrations enjoyed by residents, Como community leaders told the Star-Telegram.
Those events include the Como Day Parade and the first-ever ComoFest, a family-friendly evening of live musical performances and local vendors that ended at 10 p.m. on Saturday under the direction of community group LEGACY.
Estrus Tucker, the facilitator of the Como Leaders Council and a longtime member of the parade planning committee, blamed the shooting, and others like it across Fort Worth, on a national culture of gun violence that means that some people “don’t need much of an excuse at all” to start shooting.
“The real sobering piece is that Como is as dynamic as the city and as the state,” Tucker said. “There can be a wonderful, beautiful occasion like what LEGACY did with ComoFest, and in that same 24-hour period, tragedy can strike.”
July 3 has traditionally been a day of celebration and homecoming for friends who have moved out of the neighborhood, but many residents have long complained about large, raucous crowds outside their homes, the Star-Telegram previously reported.
Tucker said the “troublemakers” are not interested in attending events like ComoFest because they would rather gather in places with no boundaries or rules.
“We’ve got to continue to be vigilant and do our best to minimize those kinds of events without compromising on freedom and the rights of our residents to be able to gather,” Tucker said. “But it’s when you gather with guns, that you gather with illegal drugs, that you gather with violence or you’re impeding traffic, those are problems and we have to deal with them.”
After meeting with the Como Neighborhood Advisory Council in the mid-2010s, police agreed to help with crowd control and keep intersections clear during July 3 celebrations, which typically involved a block party, according to Como residents who spoke to the Star-Telegram. But tensions rose last July when a large number of officers and state troopers arrived in Como amid confusion over the parade’s cancellation due to COVID-19.
Ella Burton, the president of the Lake Como Neighborhood Advisory Council, said residents should not expect to see an increased police presence at this year’s Como Day Parade, which has a storied history in the majority-Black community.
“We have worked with the police this year like never before,” Burton said. “We’ve been meeting with them for months. We’ve got a new regiment of officers, and we’re giving them a chance and they’re giving us a chance. They’ll be out and doing their job, but it’s no different than we’ve done in the past.”
Burton and Michael Crain, who represents Como as a Fort Worth City Council member, hope the shooting will not tarnish the efforts of LEGACY members to create a safe environment for families on Saturday night at the festival, which took place less than a mile down the road from the Horne Street shooting.
“We have no indication that the shooting is in any way, shape or form tied to ComoFest,” Crain said. “I will give great accolades to the LEGACY guys for organizing a community-centric event … Any violence is tragic, especially in a great community like Como.”
Police officers were present at ComoFest and assisted with blocking off parts of Bonnell Avenue, where a stage was set up next to streets full of local vendors and activities for children. Volunteer security staff stood at each entrance to ensure compliance with the event’s rules, including bans on alcohol, drugs and fighting.
“It was absolutely amazing, and then they have something like that to put a damper on it that was totally isolated,” Burton said. “I just hope it’s not played up as: ‘Here they are, same old thing,’ because it was totally different than what has been done in the past.”
Parade organizers will make every effort to address people’s “question marks” about the shooting by shining a light on what makes Como special, Tucker said. The parade’s program, including speeches from local leaders, will start at 9 a.m. at 4900 Horne St. Marchers will begin their route at around 10 a.m.
“It’s always been about welcoming not only a diversity of Como residents, including increasingly our Hispanic neighbors, but also people from all over the city and state and beyond,” Tucker said. “Those of us on the planning committee will be making sure, even more because of what happened the night before, that our message is about unity and pride.”
This story was originally published July 4, 2021 at 2:50 PM.
