5 arrested in connection with Fort Worth drive-by shooting that injured 4 children
FORT WORTH – Five people have been arrested in connection with a May 1 drive-by shooting that left six – including four children – injured at an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Las Vegas Trail.
Fort Worth police say they believe it was a "targeted shooting toward an individual that resided near this location and one of the shooting suspects," a news release said Thursday.
Officer Buddy Calzada with the Fort Worth police said they don't believe it was gang-related activity and there is no safety risk.
Those arrested include:
- Jamal Piper, 17, of Fort Worth
- Hayden Bates-Vellmure, 18, of Fort Worth
- Jordan Elijah Jackson, 20, of Fort Worth
- Allan Gilbert, 18, of Dallas
- Patrick Biscoe, 19, of Dallas
Piper and Bates-Vellmure were arrested in Fort Worth, Jackson in Bedford, Gilbert in DeSoto and Biscoe in Dallas.
"Each suspect is charged with six counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury … discharge firearm from a motor vehicle and one count (of) deadly conduct discharge firearm at (a) habitation," the release said. Police say additional charges could be added.
According to Fort Worth police, detectives used information from witnesses and surveillance video to identify the suspects.
"It makes me sick to my stomach," Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said after the drive-by shooting. "It pisses me off. I've said many times… it makes me angry and mad."
All four children were taken to Cook Children's Hospital for treatment. One of the adults was taken to another area hospital but the second adult did not want to go.
"There's no reason anyone should be conducting themselves in such a violent, dangerous way that children should be shot and, unfortunately, that's what we're dealing with, that someone chose to do something that stupid," Noakes said at the time.
"That community likes to talk to the police because of the bond we've built with them," Calzada said. "We consider them family, for them to come forward to the police department to give us information they have is crucial to this investigation."