Students were allegedly involved in a fight near a Fort Worth high school Wednesday afternoon during which gunshots rang out.
Fort Worth police received reports of shots fired near Eastern Hills High School on December 20 at around 2 p.m. Responding to 5701 Shelton St., officers conducted a preliminary investigation and found that no one had been injured and that the alleged shooter had run off toward a nearby apartment complex.
The gunfire was reportedly related to a fight that broke out among students off campus, although no further information was provided. Detectives are still investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, Eastern Hills High School enacted safety protocols to secure the campus, barring anyone from entry and exit while the shots were being investigated, principal Lewis Washington later explained in a letter to parents, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Stressing the school’s dedication to safety and transparency, Washington assured parents that the incident was “isolated.”
Eastern Hills High School is one of Fort Worth Independent School District’s 140 campuses. It was recently flagged for being under 70% capacity, making it one of 48 schools at risk of closure amid the district’s rightsizing initiatives, as previously covered in The Dallas Express.
Fort Worth ISD has been plagued with lackluster student achievement scores, high rates of teacher turnover, and declining student enrollment figures. It has been endeavoring to “right the ship” through a capacity study and a recruitment drive focusing on its schools of choice.
The issues of campus security have been debated across the state since the deadly school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in May 2022. While many districts have implemented additional safeguards ranging from high-tech security systems to clear backpack policies, Texas lawmakers eventually passed a new law this year requiring an armed security officer to be stationed at every public school. However, some districts have struggled to meet the requirement.
For instance, Dallas ISD was reportedly short 167 armed officers when the measure took effect, mirroring considerable staffing issues within the Dallas Police Department, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
DPD currently fields around 3,000 officers despite a City report calling for closer to 4,000. The results of this shortfall include a rising murder rate, which had grown by 13.8% as of December 21, according to data from the City’s crime analytics dashboard, as well as growing criminality and vagrancy in Downtown Dallas. When compared to Fort Worth’s downtown area, which is patrolled by a specialized neighborhood police unit working alongside private security guards, Downtown Dallas is a crime hot spot.
