8 shot, wounded in Fourth of July shooting in Fort Worth Como neighborhood, police say
Eight people were wounded by gunfire early Sunday near a car wash on Horne Street in the Como neighborhood in west Fort Worth, police said.
No suspects are in custody.
The gunshot victims were taken to local hospitals, and police said they were in stable condition.
Authorities did not release any information on a motive for the shooting.
Patrol officers were in the area of the 3400 block of Horne Street at about 1:30 a.m. when an officer heard gunshots.
Officers responded to the neighborhood and found eight people with gunshot wounds.
Detectives have determined that several different guns were used because of the multiple shell casings found in the area.
Gun violence detectives are investigating.
Thousands of people gather in the west Fort Worth neighborhood on Fourth of July weekend, when an annual parade takes place.
The neighborhood also hosted its first-ever ComoFest on Saturday night. The family-friendly event featured live musical performances and local vendors and was scheduled to last from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Organizers of the festival said they coordinated with Fort Worth police to develop security plans.
After canceling in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, the Como Day Parade is scheduled to celebrate its 70th year on Monday at 10 a.m., beginning at 4900 Horne St. The annual event attracts more than 3,000 spectators and nearly 200 participants.
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, Officer Tracey Carter, a department spokesman, told the Star-Telegram last year.
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.
