Mesquite police searching for 2 people following shooting
MESQUITE – Police continue the search for two people connected to an officer-involved shooting.
It happened around 3 a.m. Thursday morning when a stolen vehicle was located near the 7/11 gas station off Cartwright Road and Faithon P Lucas Blvd.
An officer made contact with the stolen vehicle, police say. While the officer checked on the vehicle, they learned that there was a second one involved. Two people then fled from the vehicle, Mesquite police lieutenant Brandon Ricketts said.
As the officer persued the two people who fled, an officer fired at the second vehicle. From that interaction, one person was shot and has died, Ricketts said. That person was later identified as 19-year-old Peyton Lawrence.
Lawrence's father told CBS News Texas' Kennedi Walker that he was driving his twin sisters car and believes the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.
Three people are in custody, two people remain at-large and Lawrence is the only one person who died. No police officers were injured.
There is no information about the other suspects, but their ages range from 18 to 20. Ricketts said there were also multiple firearms in the vehicle.
Although there are several schools nearby, Mesquite ISD officials say the incident won't impact classes.