How a Fort Worth man, his mother cope with the robbery that hospitalized him for months
Tracy Johnson spends every day at the hospital with her son, Trent Johnson. She works from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. By 7 p.m., she is back at the hospital and even stays the night, all to provide comfort for Trent.
Trent has been hospitalized since Sept. 2. He was injured in an attempted robbery at the Sierra Vista Senior Villas apartments at 2942 South Riverside Drive in Fort Worth, where he was visiting his aunt.
He was shot in the back, shoulder, chest and neck. He spent 33 days in the ICU, was transferred to the trauma unit for a little over two weeks, and was finally transferred to receive general care for his wounds in the hospital.
At around 3 p.m. on Sept. 2, police responded to a call about a man who was shot at the apartment complex and found Trent with multiple gunshot wounds, transferring him to the hospital in critical condition.
No arrests were immediately made, but police confirmed to the Star-Telegram on Oct. 4 that a juvenile suspect was arrested. The Star-Telegram also requested an arrest warrant affidavit from police, but the request was denied.
Trent’s mother says her son was approached by two male teenagers at the apartment complex the day he was shot. One of the teens asked Trent about a backpack he was wearing at the time, also asking if he had a gun on him, according to Tracy.
One of the assailants then demanded the backpack, which Trent refused to give him.
Trent ran once he heard shots fired, but was hit by the gunfire, according to Tracy. He’s had 14 surgeries due to his wounds.
Trent did not know the two young men personally, but he had seen them at a corner store near the apartment complex prior to the shooting.
Tracy says that she does not allow the shooting that injured her son to keep her down. Instead, she plans on becoming a gun violence activist, with hopes to discourage juveniles from partaking in crime.
She said she wants to “tell them just how important it is to not take this path because we don’t know what’s going to happen to that young man (the juvenile suspect). But the path he took is the wrong one.”
Tracy’s concerns not only lie in the well-being of her son, but also in how gun violence is being addressed in Texas.
According to Tracy, a witness called and reported to police that they saw two young men with guns at the corner store where Trent had also seen them. She said police responded to the caller by saying Texas is an open-carry state.
“They could have prevented this had they just gone to the store where the boys were showing that they had a gun,” Tracy said.
“I want to follow up with that,” she said about the witness’ report, “but I want to make sure Trent is all right before I start doing my due diligence on this gun violence thing.”
Despite the many surgeries Trent has had, his mother is grateful he got to see his 40th birthday, which was on Nov. 4. He recently started physical therapy to help him start walking again.
“He’s coping very well and he’s been as positive in this situation, to me, as anyone can be,” said Tracy. “He’s here and he’s laughing, talking, so he’s on the road to recovery.”
As for Tracy, her son’s shooting initially took a toll on her mental health. She took three weeks off from work in the first month her son spent in the hospital.
“I’m better because mentally it did affect me because all I could see was him dying,” she said. “I don’t want to be a victim as well, so I won’t allow this to depress me.”
Her plan to become a gun violence activist is what encourages her every day.
“That will help me to continue to deal with this and not stress about it.”
Trent is currently in the long-term wound care facility, where he will be for a couple of months, Tracy says, as his injuries are still life-threatening.
