The 37-year-old man accused of fatally shooting an Everman ISD employee on Interstate 20 Thursday morning admitted firing at the victim’s car after he said she tailgated him and then pulled around him on the highway entrance ramp, according to court documents.
Fort Worth police arrested Patrick Lawrence on Thursday evening. He faces a murder charge in connection with the death of LaTaivia Davis.
Officers responded to I-20 near Trail Lake Drive about 6:40 a.m. A 911 caller reported that a woman in a red car had been shot by another driver. According to the suspect’s arrest warrant affidavit, three passersby saw the shooting and stopped to help the victim.
One man told investigators that he heard a loud bang and saw a red car with an apparent bullet hole in the passenger window swerve onto the left shoulder of the freeway. A blue vehicle with the window down headed toward the Granbury Road exit, he said.
The suspect’s vehicle, a Volkswagen SUV, was caught on a dash camera. Police obtained the license plate and learned that Lawrence was the registered owner, the affidavit states. Police found the SUV at Lawrence’s workplace in Justin.
Detectives detained Lawrence in the parking lot over his lunch break. They told the suspect he was free to leave at any time, but Lawrence voluntarily agreed to talk with the investigators, according to the affidavit.
Patrick Lawrence, 37, was arrested and faces a murder charge in the killing of LaTaivia Davis, police said. Fort Worth police
Lawrence said he’d pulled into the far-right lane on South Hulen Street and was ready to get on I-20 when a car behind him started tailgating, the affidavit states. The red vehicle then quickly merged to the left and cut across the white onramp markings to get on the highway, Lawrence said.
“Patrick said he could not see inside the red vehicle because the windows were tinted dark,” the lead homicide detective wrote in the affidavit. “As the vehicle passed he pulled out a 9 mm Canik pistol and fired one shot toward the red vehicle.”
After the shooting, Lawrence exited the freeway and headed to work, the document states. The suspect gave the investigators permission to search his SUV and said the gun he’d fired was still inside the vehicle.
Fort Worth police cadets line up to search for evidence after an Everman ISD teacher’s aide was killed in a road rage shooting in the eastbound lanes of I-20 on Thursday morning, Aug. 13, 2026. Fort Worth Police Department
The officers found a 9 mm pistol in the door pocket on the driver’s side. The ammunition matched the casing that Fort Worth police cadets found near the scene of the shooting, according to the affidavit.
Lawrence is being held in the Tarrant County Jail on a murder charge. His bond has not been set, and it’s not clear if he’s hired an attorney to represent him.
The victim was apparently on her way to work at Everman ISD at the time of the shooting. The Everman school district’s website lists Davis as an art teacher’s aide at E. Ray Elementary School.
The school district said that counseling and support will be available for grieving students and staff members.
“We ask that our community join us in extending compassion, support, and respect to the family and our school community as they grieve,” the district said in a statement Thursday.
This story was originally published August 14, 2026 at 11:43 AM.
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Harriet Ramos covers crime and other breaking news for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.