A 14-year-old boy was fatally shot while allegedly attempting to break into an apartment in Fort Worth in the early hours of Thursday.
Fort Worth police responded twice to the scene of an alleged burglary attempt at a residence in the 5200 block of Southcrest Court. Although no suspects were found when officers first arrived at the scene, the body of a 14-year-old boy was discovered the second time. He had reportedly been shot in the torso by a woman living inside the targeted apartment.
A man who had been trying to mentor the teen told NBC 5 DFW that he was named Devin and had been an eighth grader at Rosemont Middle School.
“Seemed like a bright kid from what I gathered, kind of reminded me a lot of myself,” Durwyn Lamb recalled. “I was a troubled kid, so I understand that energy, and I felt like he was a good kid, just had a talk with him about life.”
Lamb, a martial arts coach and longtime mentor to troubled youth on the south side of the city, explained that Devin’s death highlights the need for more outreach efforts.
“I shed tears because there’s a whole bunch of Devins in this world and this community,” he said. “There’s a lot of young men, young black males or Latino males losing their life in a sad way.”
Fort Worth police are still investigating the incident, which officer Jimmy Pollozani called “heartbreaking for the community, for the officers who responded, and for every party involved,” according to WFAA.
Pollozani pointed to the department’s free Police Athletic League programs and encouraged parents to get their children involved.
“The whole purpose behind that is to get kids off the street, get kids active in the community,” he said.
Rosemont Middle School wrote a letter to parents, informing them about the fatal shooting and the availability of counseling services. It also urged parents to “be attentive, listen to your child, and look for possible signs that they may need additional help.”
Across the metroplex, theft, burglary, and robbery incidents have been making the headlines. Just last week, a burglary suspect reportedly shot himself in the head after stumbling while being pursued on foot by Fort Worth police, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
In neighboring Dallas, there have been a total of 26,916 theft offenses and 5,730 burglaries committed citywide this year as of December 14, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. However, motor vehicle theft, the most prevalent crime in the city, has surged 40.7% from the year prior, reaching 17,942 recorded offenses.
The Dallas Police Department currently fields only around 3,000 officers despite a City analysis stating that a municipality the size of Dallas should have roughly 4,000 officers to curb crime effectively. Downtown Dallas has been most affected by this deficit, as the neighborhood remains a hotbed of criminal activity, especially auto theft.
Downtown Dallas sees far more motor vehicle thefts than the Fort Worth downtown area, which is patrolled by a dedicated police unit working alongside private security guards. In one month alone, 91 motor vehicle thefts were reported in Downtown Dallas, while only two were reported that same month in downtown Fort Worth.
