Mystery bullet found lodged in window at Fort Worth women’s prison; FBI investigates
A bullet was found lodged in a window at a federal prison in Fort Worth on Tuesday, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
One woman incarcerated at Federal Medical Center Carswell said the bullet was discovered Tuesday morning on the fifth floor of one of Carswell’s housing units. Windy Panzo said the bullet was two windows down from her room on the facility’s medical floor, where she and other medically vulnerable women are held.
Panzo said the bullet had gone through the first layer of glass and was lodged in the second layer.
“All of are worried and wonder how is it that the compound perimeter drivers that are here to protect us did not hear anything?” Panzo said via email. “Still got to wonder if we’re safe at all... ????”
FMC Carswell is located about four miles west of the Fort Worth Stockyards in the northwest corner of the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, and was formerly named Carswell Air Force Base. The facility’s 19 buildings are mostly surrounded by woodland, Lake Worth and fields. The nearest residential area is about a quarter of a mile to the south.
In response to questions from the Star-Telegram, Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Randilee Giamusso confirmed a bullet was found Tuesday morning and said no staff or people incarcerated at the facility were injured. The FBI was notified, Giamusso said, and the investigation was ongoing. The Bureau of Prisons did not respond to further questions and said no additional information was available.
On Tuesday, Panzo said the FBI was taking photos at the facility. She said she and other women only realized what happened when they woke up Tuesday morning.
“No one is hurt but it was close... our floor is the vulnerable and we are disabled,” she wrote in an email. “So it is strange that no one heard the shots fired... not even the night staff.”
Fort Worth police said while the facility is on base property, the Bureau of Prisons requested city police to make a report per their protocol. Officers were on the way to the facility at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Fort Worth police public information officer Buddy Calzada said.
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 3:06 PM.
