‘Lasting impact’: Family remembers legacy of 23-year-old killed in North Texas shooting
De’Kiah Montgomery loved Nerf gun wars with his 7-year-old nieces, music and making people laugh.
Now his family is trying to figure out how to carry on without him. The 23-year-old Everman man died Oct. 13 from complications of injuries he received in a shooting 10 days prior.
“It’s really hard to navigate the day to day without him,” Montgomery’s sister Dacia Smith told the Star-Telegram.
Montgomery was more than a sibling, Smith said. He was her best friend and a father figure to her twin daughters, Aria and Amara.
Right now, the family is taking it a day at a time. Smith said she’s trying to hold on to the lessons her brother taught her from the way he lived.
Montgomery had a big heart, Smith said. People were often intimidated by his size, but he was a gentle giant, according to Smith. He never lost his patience and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.
One of his special joys was his relationship with his twin nieces, Smith said. Montgomery and Smith didn’t have a father figure in their life after their grandfather died, and Montgomery was determined to break that cycle with Smith’s children.
He attended Meet the Teacher with Aria and Amara and celebrated their good report cards with ice cream or other treats, Smith said. At their kindergarten graduation, Montgomery cheered louder than anyone else when their names were called.
Social media photos show Montgomery holding the twins as babies, Montgomery with the girls at a mall, Montgomery and the twins on Halloween.
“He enjoyed being a part of whatever they had going on,” Smith said.
To Smith, Montgomery was the curly-haired little boy she watched grow up. She remembers when he came home from the hospital as a baby, and she saw him take his first steps. As a child, he would spill Kool-Aid powder on the kitchen floor, and Smith said it was her job to clean it up.
Montgomery always treated others with respect and brought love wherever he went, according to Smith. She credits their mother, Shannon Montgomery, for her influence in his life.
Fort Worth police are investigating the Oct. 3 shooting that led to Montgomery’s death, but no arrests have been announced. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide.
According to Smith, her brother was at a block party the night of the shooting. He’d been at that location several times before, even taking Smith and her daughters for the Fourth of July and his mother for a Mother’s Day event.
“He wasn’t somewhere he shouldn’t have been,” she said.
Police said Montgomery and 29-year-old Kinte Johnson were shot while leaving the party. The two victims left the scene in a vehicle and after driving a short distance were involved in a crash near U.S. 287 and Mitchell Boulevard, investigators said. Johnson was shot in the torso and died in the vehicle in the 3100 block of Wesleyan Drive South.
Smith said she doesn’t know how her brother knew Johnson, or even if the two were friends. A kind stranger found Montgomery after the shooting and took him to John Peter Smith Hospital.
Smith told the Star-Telegram that she’s thankful for the man who stopped to help Montgomery. She’s also grateful for the JPS staff who cared for her brother during his last days.
Since his death, people who knew her brother from years ago have reached out to Smith to share their stories and memories of what he meant to them.
“He made that lasting impact on people,” Smith said.
Montgomery’s family has organized a GoFundMe to help cover the 23-year-old’s medical and funeral expenses.
This story was originally published November 9, 2024 at 1:03 PM.
