The Brief
A man shot early Sunday morning in Arlington drove into Fort Worth, where he was found dead inside his vehicle outside a QuikTrip on Brentwood Stair Road.
Arlington police are leading the homicide investigation tied to an initial shooting scene located at 3100 E. Park Row Dr.
Authorities have not released the victim’s name, and the suspect remains at large with the motive currently unknown.
ARLINGTON, Texas – An 18-year-old man who was shot in Arlington early Sunday drove about 12 miles to a Fort Worth gas station, where he was found dead inside his vehicle, police said.
What happened between the two locations remains unknown and has raised questions among community members.
Driver found dead at gas station
What we know
According to Arlington police, someone reported hearing gunshots around 2:54 a.m. Sunday at the Arlington Park Apartments on East Park Row Drive.
Police responded but initially did not find a victim, suspect or evidence of a shooting.
About 30 minutes later, Fort Worth police found an 18-year-old man with gunshot wounds inside a vehicle at a QuikTrip in the 6600 block of Brentwood Stair Road. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fort Worth police said East Division officers were dispatched to the gas station at 3:08 a.m. after the man was discovered.
A witness who was with the victim told police the shooting happened at the Arlington apartment complex. Investigators later returned to the scene and found several shell casings.
Arlington police are treating the shooting scene at 3100 E. Park Row Drive as a murder investigation.
Residents react to deadly shooting
What they’re saying
Andrea Thompson, a customer at the gas station, said she could only imagine what people were experiencing at the time.
“I can only imagine what they were going through and what was happening at the time,” Thompson said.
Thompson said she would not expect to encounter a deadly shooting while stopping for gas or ice.
“Like you would just expect to come see that just by just coming to just get gas or just get some ice,” she said.
She also expressed concern about young people dying or going to prison.
“I mean, we’re losing so many young people either to death or to prison, and it’s just sad,” Thompson said.
Local perspective
One neighbor said the circumstances were difficult to understand.
“I mean, if they were hurt that bad, I don’t. I don’t even know what to say. I mean, you know, but they could have died anywhere. I mean, but all the way to Fort Worth. To a gas station, and they started here. That’s crazy,” the neighbor said.
Another resident said the gunfire has caused him to reconsider living at the apartment complex, especially with children nearby.
“If somebody they get into an argument or a fight over there, and the kids are playing here. One of these little kids might take a bullet, you know, and that’s been having nothing to do with it,” the neighbor said.
What’s next
Police are still trying to determine what happened to the 18-year-old man. No arrests have been made.
Because the initial offense occurred in Arlington, Fort Worth police are referring questions about the shooting to the Arlington Police Department.
The Source
Information in this article is from the Arlington Police Department.