{"id":290691,"date":"2026-05-13T04:48:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T04:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/290691\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T04:48:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T04:48:16","slug":"fort-worth-launches-campaign-against-illegal-gunfire-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/290691\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Worth launches campaign against illegal gunfire"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brief<\/p>\n

The City of Fort Worth is launching a campaign to educate and warn against illegal gunfire after an increase in arrests related to the crime.<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia says there is a connection between illegal gunfire and unsecured firearms that contributes to violent crime.<\/p>\n

In February, an elderly woman was killed inside her Fort Worth home after being struck by a stray bullet that came through her front door.<\/p>\n

FORT WORTH, Texas – After an increase in gun-related arrests in recent years, the City of Fort Worth is launching a campaign to educate and warn against illegal gunfire.<\/p>\n

“Pull the trigger, pay the price”<\/p>\n

What we know<\/p>\n

Tuesday marked the beginning of Fort Worth’s campaign against illegal gunfire, aiming to educate its citizens about the dangers of illegal gunfire and the importance of gun safety.<\/p>\n

The campaign notes that between 2024 and 2025, the city saw a 28% increase in arrests related to illegal gunfire, and that one-third of celebratory gunfire injuries result in death.<\/p>\n

Illegal gunfire arrests in Fort Worth rose 115% from 2024 to 2026 in January and February of those years alone.<\/p>\n

The campaign states that illegal gunfire can lead to criminal charges including up to a $4,000 fine and one year in jail time.<\/p>\n

“This is preventable, and it has to stop”<\/p>\n

What they’re saying<\/p>\n

“The Fort Worth Police Department takes illegal gunfire seriously and prosecutes to the fullest extent of the law,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said. “If a stray bullet from your gun kills someone, you will be arrested and potentially charged with murder.”<\/p>\n

\"<div>Fort<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker<\/p>\n

The campaign includes Cook Children’s Aim for Safety initiative, which was launched by Henry Guzman M.D. and provides low-cost gun locks and educates families about firearm safety and safe gun storage practices.<\/p>\n

“These tragedies are preventable,” Guzman said.<\/p>\n

\"<div>Gun-lock<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia noted a connection between illegal gunfire and unsecured firearms, saying they contribute to violent crime and put innocent lives at risk.<\/p>\n

“We are seeing far too many firearms being stolen and then connected to criminal activity, or worse, injuring innocent lives,” Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Garcia noted that over 2,300 firearms have been reported stolen in the city since 2024, mainly from vehicle burglaries.<\/p>\n

Recent Fort Worth illegal gunfire incidents<\/p>\n

Dig deeper<\/p>\n

Fort Worth city leaders referenced a February incident in which a 66-year-old woman was killed in her home by illegal gunfire.<\/p>\n

Police say a bullet came from outside the house, hitting Magdalene Mancho while she was inside. Cameras captured what looked like a bullet hole through Mancho\u2019s front door.<\/p>\n

A juvenile was later arrested in connection to the crime. About an hour before the medical call, police had received reports of shots fired in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

In late March, Fort Worth Police shot an armed suspect who had been indiscriminately firing rounds on Bonita Drive.<\/p>\n

Alejandro Serrano had fired around 30 rounds in the neighborhood, and two handguns were recovered on his person after his arrest.<\/p>\n

The Source<\/p>\n

Information in this story comes from the City of Fort Worth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brief The City of Fort Worth is launching a campaign to educate and warn against illegal gunfire…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290692,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[45749,5800,7884,116,118,117,3737,106281],"class_list":["post-290691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-celebratory-gunfire","tag-city-of-fort-worth","tag-eddie-garcia","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-fort-worth-police","tag-stray-bullet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}