Jamie Landers and Noor Adatia
8:26 AM on Jul 4, 2023 CDT
Updated at 5:04 PM on Jul 4, 2023 CDT
A total of 11 people were shot, including 10 adults and one juvenile.
At first, it sounded like more fireworks, one deafening boom after another.
Then came the screams and bodies crashing to the pavement, as hundreds of revelers scrambled to safety behind buildings or cars, looking for loved ones along the way.
The gunfire erupted shortly before midnight when police say several men fired at random into a crowd gathered nearly two hours after ComoFest, a Fourth of July festival in Como, a historic neighborhood in West Fort Worth.
Chaos and confusion were captured in a video of the shooting posted on Facebook, when, after more than two dozen shots ring out, a man is heard yelling, “Where, where, where?” and “Take cover!”
People running in the street are nearly hit by cars as drivers race to leave. More shots sound in short bursts as fireworks continue to launch in the distance.
Upon arrival, officers found multiple bodies in a parking lot in the 3400 block of Horne Street, near Diaz Avenue. A total of 11 people were shot — three fatally. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while two others died later. The remaining eight were being treated in hospitals.
Among the dead were Paul Willis, an 18-year-old who worked long hours at a fast food restaurant to save up for his own car, and Cynthia Santos, a 22-year-old described as supportive and family-oriented. The third person has not been identified.
Of the 11 shooting victims, police said 10 were adults and one was a child, but it is not yet known whether the child was killed or wounded.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no arrests had been made and a motive for the shooting was unclear, but police confirmed none of the wounded were suspects.
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