A Fort Worth man was killed early Sunday morning after gunfire erupted at an outdoor party thought to be an after-prom celebration.
Marco Cornejo, 20, was shot to death by an unknown assailant after getting into an argument with someone at the gathering, leaving behind a pregnant wife and 1-year-old daughter.
“He was very grateful. Grateful for everything he had. He was a great dad and that’s why I just can’t believe he’s not going to be there for my second one, my labor and everything,” said Cornejo’s wife, Daniela Gomez, speaking with NBC 5.
When Fort Worth police arrived at the scene, they found Cornejo injured from at least one gunshot to the torso. He was transported to a local hospital but ultimately died from his injury.
The party was held on the 3500 block of Northwest 27th Street in North Fort Worth. When it ended, the empty lot left behind appeared in complete disarray with trash, beer bottles, and cigarette butts strewn about, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
As many as a few hundred people were allegedly at the party, and after shots were fired, they all started fleeing from the area.
“At first we didn’t see the guy,” Torivio Montano told WFAA, who was at the party with his brother. “They were just yelling like, ‘It’s a balloon. It’s a balloon,'” he said, apparently referring to the popping sound of the gunfire.
“As soon as we seen everything, we took off cause like we weren’t there to investigate. We weren’t trying to get hurt or nothing,” Montano added.
Criminal homicides have been on the rise in North Texas, especially in Dallas, where City officials cannot seem to get the murder rate under control. As of Tuesday, 96 murders had been committed within the city limits year to date, up more than 20% from the number clocked in 2022 at this time, according to the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard.
Cornejo’s wife set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for funeral expenses.
“[M]y husband was killed last night due to gun violence leaving behind 1 beautiful baby girl and another baby girl incoming soon. His whole family & I are devastated. He was loved by many, anyone that got to know him personally knows how goofy, happy and loving he really was,” Gomez wrote.
Fort Worth police urge anyone with information about the shooting to call their detectives at 817-392-4330. Calls can be made anonymously.
