A Fort Worth teenager was shot and killed after a fight over a video game on Sunday.
Tavion Swindell, 15, was allegedly murdered by Deeven Jones, 35, after “smack talk” over a video game escalated.
Around 1 p.m., officers arrived at the scene to find Swindell suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, per NBC 5 DFW.
Swindell was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth where he died from his injuries. Jones was taken into custody at Tarrant County jail on Sunday evening and has since been charged with murder and tampering with evidence.
Jones and Swindell were allegedly playing video games when a witness heard Swindell say, “I can’t wait to play the game and beat (expletive).” Jones reportedly replied with, “You can’t even beat my (expletive), lil boy.” Swindell responded with, “Who can’t?” and Jones became violent.
According to the arrest affidavit obtained by NBC 5, Jones pulled out a firearm, shot Swindell in the chest, and then told the witness to wait to call the police until he had left with the gun.
Jones then reportedly contacted his siblings from a different phone number, telling them he had gotten rid of his cell phone.
Officers were able to locate Jones’ vehicle and apprehend him. He is now being held on a $260,000 bond.
Swindell was a football player at Southwest High School in Fort Worth ISD.
According to NBC 5, the school’s principal, John Engel, released a statement on Monday, saying:
“Our hearts are heavy, as we learned a student of the Southwest High School family passed away. We extend our love and sympathy to their family during this time. This is an emotional time for us all, and experiencing a loss is always difficult to understand for students and staff.
“The campus has support in place for crisis counseling should your child feel the need to speak to someone. I encourage you to be attentive and listen to your child and look for possible signs that they may need additional help.”
Meanwhile, in Dallas, there have been 127 murders committed this year as of August 20, according to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard.
The Dallas Police Department has been facing serious staffing issues, resulting in lower response times and a strain on public safety resources.
Only around 3,000 officers are currently in the field, despite a prior City analysis advising that a force of roughly 4,000 is needed to properly police a jurisdiction the size of Dallas.
For its part, the Dallas City Council approved a budget of only $654 million for DPD this fiscal year, considerably less taxpayer money than what is being spent on public safety in other high-crime cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.