4th of July mass shooting leaving 8 people wounded in Fort Worth  Como

By Edward Era Barbacena

Eight people were wounded by gunfire early Sunday near a car wash on Horne Street in the Como neighborhood in west Fort Worth, a few hours after hundreds attended a July Fourth festival, police said.

No suspects were in custody as of Sunday afternoon.

The gunshot victims were taken to local hospitals, and police said they were stable. According to MedStar, at least one of the victims was in critical condition.

Most of the people who were injured were innocent bystanders who were hurt when multiple people began shooting, according to Fort Worth police. A girl, whose age was not released, was hurt when she was hit by a car whose driver was trying to get away from the shooting, but her injuries are believed to be minor.

The shooting happened after several men began arguing in the 3400 block of Horne Street at about 1:30 a.m. One of the men left, got a gun and came back to the group and started shooting, police said. Multiple people started to shoot back. Detectives determined that several different guns were used because of the multiple shell casings found in the area.

Patrol officers were in the area when an officer heard gunshots. Officers responded to the scene and began providing first aid to the victims.

Gun violence detectives are investigating what led to the shooting.

NEIGHBORS REACT

Lonnie Lambert was sitting on his porch in the neighborhood, watching fireworks as stragglers headed home from the first-ever ComoFest on Saturday night.

He had been at the block party, a family-friendly event featuring live musical performances and local vendors that ended about 10 p.m., with his wife and grandchildren and was relaxing, having a drink and watching the colorful displays in the sky around his house.

Then, around 1:20 a.m., he heard gunshots.

With all the fireworks and firecrackers shooting off in the neighborhood, he didn’t recognize them as gunshots at first. The sound was different, he said, but it wasn’t until he saw people starting to run toward his property and heard the screams that he put two and two together.

Lambert said his first thought was about his grandchildren, who were inside the house, and protecting them.

“I knew I could get shot and be an innocent bystander and I didn’t want that, but I got up off my porch and started making sure people weren’t getting on my property,” Lambert said.

He kept an eye on things and did his best to keep people away because he didn’t want any shots to be fired in his direction and risk his grandchildren getting hurt.

But Lambert said the shooting hasn’t made him feel any less safe in the Como neighborhood. He’s planning to take his grandchildren and wife out for the Independence Day parade in Como on Monday.

This sort of thing doesn’t happen until most people are going home, he said. When the scheduled festivities are in full swing, families can be out in Como without fear.

Lambert was in his front yard getting charcoal ready around 11 a.m. July 4, watching as neighbors swept up debris in the streets from the block party. Some used leaf blowers to move cardboard left over from fireworks out of the road while other used brooms to sweep it into dustpans and dump what they collected into trashcans.

Lambert said he was getting ready to grill some lunch for his family to celebrate Independence Day and felt totally safe. Those cleaning up from the festivities said they weren’t worried either.

Thousands of people gather in the west Fort Worth neighborhood on Fourth of July weekend. After canceling in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, the Como Day Parade is scheduled to celebrate its 70th year on Monday at 9 a.m., beginning at 4900 Horne St. with speeches from community leaders. The annual event attracts more than 3,000 spectators and nearly 200 participants.

Organizers of the festival and parade said they coordinated with Fort Worth police to develop security plans, and the parade will go forward.

Two Como residents aiding in the post-party cleanup said they aren’t out late enough to see anything like shootings or “drama.” They and Lambert said that if you’re not out late and if you head home when things like the block party are winding down, you won’t be in any danger.

Bobby Johnson echoed that statement.

Johnson, a resident of the area who attended the festival, said he didn’t see or hear the shooting in the early hours of July 4, but he hopes it won’t stop people from enjoying the rest of the holiday or stop them from going out for the parade Monday.

“It happens sometimes and it doesn’t matter where you are,” Johnson said. “Not everybody is going to be here for what we’re here for, but this didn’t happen until later. It was a fun time earlier in the night.”

He said families were out en masse to enjoy the party Saturday night and the shooting didn’t happen until most families were inside.

Johnson pointed to the recent shooting in the parking lot at Hurricane Harbor water park in Arlington, saying there will be people who want to cause trouble anywhere you go.

“This sort of thing happens at like 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m., when people who were just out to have fun are in bed anyway,” Johnson said. “The only people out are those who want to cause problems.”

Many other residents shared thoughts with the Star-Telegram but said they didn’t want to be named. Some said the area was not safe for visitors and told the Star-Telegram it would be good to avoid the area, but most said they weren’t concerned after the shooting.

One churchgoer leaving a July 4 service said she didn’t worry about safety in the area during the day or during public events. She said she doesn’t believe the people who cause problems in the area live there.

“These things are usually folks from outside,” said the woman, who asked not to be named. “We had a good time out here on the third. This shouldn’t poison that.”

She said she doesn’t live in the neighborhood anymore but grew up there. Her parents still live in the area and she plans to return Monday for the parade.

Other churchgoers heading home after noon from churches near the location of the shooting said they hoped the shooting won’t overshadow the good of the block party or make the celebrations held there look bad. They said they want to make sure people see it for what it was: good, family-friendly fun for their historic neighborhood and a chance to celebrate America and independence.

POLICE PRESENCE

Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said on Twitter that he is “praying for the victims and the good people in the amazing Como community.”

“I’m so proud of the FWPD officers who ran towards the danger, made the area safe and rendered medical aid to the victims,” Noakes said. “They saved lives! Let’s all work together and put a stop to this senseless gun violence.”

“This is an extremely tragic event on what is supposed to be a festive occasion on Independence Day,” Noakes said early Sunday morning in a statement from the shooting scene recorded by Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.

“We’re seeing way too much gun violence across the nation,” Noakes said. “We’re seeing it here in Fort Worth. We’re seeing it in the metroplex. What I want the citizens to know is we’re doing everything we can at Fort Worth PD to put a stop to the senseless violence and to take guns out of the hands of criminals in Fort Worth, Texas. It will not be tolerated.”

Fort Worth police have had a presence in the community on July 3 for the past several years due to complaints from neighbors about large, raucous crowds and potential violence late at night, Officer Tracey Carter, a department spokesman, told the Star-Telegram last year.

The late-night gathering has been the subject of annual concern since 1988, when rocks and bottles were thrown at passing cars and 15 people were arrested.

After meeting with the Como Neighborhood Advisory Council in the mid-2010s, police agreed to help with crowd control and keep intersections clear, Carter said. But tensions rose last year when a large number of officers and state troopers arrived in Como amid confusion about the parade’s cancellation.

The incident prompted concerns about over-policing in the majority-Black community.

At the time, neighborhood advisory council member Estrus Tucker said community leaders should have done more to communicate why police were on the scene. A few citations were issued, but there were no reports of force or arrests by police last year, according to Carter.

“We heard from many residents who were concerned with the number of police, but there are also many residents who are familiar with what happens on July 3,” Tucker said.