A 3-year-old girl injured in a drive-by shooting in Fort Worth that hurt five others on Wednesday night has lost a kidney, her family says.
The child was one of six people between the ages of 3 and 19 who were shot while sitting outside a West Fort Worth apartment Wednesday night. Five of the victims were hospitalized and one refused treatment.
The shooter has not been identified; however, police confirmed the gunman was traveling in a vehicle headed southbound on Las Vegas Trail as they opened fire. Fort Worth police said the gunman's vehicle was seen driving by the apartment building before the shooting and that at least one person shot from the vehicle toward all of the victims.
Octavius Tucker said he was taking a nap when we heard the gunfire.
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“All you hear is shooting, and I got on the floor,” Tucker said. “I came outside and everybody out here crying. It’s messed up how it happened.”
Police said the youngest of the victims is 3 years old.
“I come outside, the little girl is out here,” Tucker said. “The daddy going through it, too ‘cause his daughter just lost a kidney."
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The father of the child confirmed to NBC 5 that his daughter remains in the hospital after doctors had to remove her kidney.
Tucker’s 14-year-old neighbor was the victim police said refused to go to the hospital. Off camera, the teen said a bullet grazed his right leg. While the teen was seen limping from the pain, he told NBC 5 he felt OK.
Tucker admitted it is common to see gang activity in the area however, he is stunned most of the victims are children.
“Them kids ain’t do nothing to nobody,” Tucker said.
Councilman Michael D. Crain of District 3 was in the area Thursday afternoon.
“It’s a tragic incident. I hate that it happened,” Crain said. “Our police department is working very hard to solve this crime.”
Crain said Thursday’s crime is not reflective of the community.
“While crime has been high here, we've invested in the technology and the assets. And really in the neighborhood and the people,” Crain said. “Is there a lot more work to do? Absolutely.”
According to numbers from the Fort Worth Police Department, there were 51 cases of crimes against persons in March 2022. A year later, there were a total of 53 cases. The latest numbers for March 2024 showcase that crimes against persons were down to 32.
“Last night’s events were a tragedy and not in line with the overall trend of crime reduction in the area. I’m proud of our first responders who acted quickly to address and resolve. I remain committed to increasing our public safety efforts in this corridor and the revitalization plans for those who call the area home,” Crain said. “Gun violence, especially involving our youth, has no place in our society and especially in Fort Worth. I will continue to pray for the victims and their families and will continue my work, so this does not happen again.”
Still, neighbors said they are uneasy as they wait for the victims to return home from the hospital and for police to make an arrest.
“We're trying to see what today is going to bring us,” Tucker said. “Every day is something different.”
Community leader Pastor Kyev Tatum said Wednesday's shooting shows more work needs to be done.
“Have you seen that it's in impoverished communities where you're having all of these mass shootings? But yet we're not doing anything to address the issues in the Black community and we're not doing anything to reduce poverty. So if you're not addressing the issues, the root cause of the issues, then you're really just putting a Band-Aid on a much larger, much larger issue," said Tatum.
Wednesday, Tatum held a prayer circle for the victims. Saturday, he's hosting a free baseball and softball event called "Pitch, Hit and Run Over Bullets and Guns" at Gateway Park at noon. Kids ages seven to 14 are invited to participate.
The investigation is ongoing. If anyone has any information about the shooting, they're asked to contact the Fort Worth Police Department at 817-392-4222. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
