Jago Times "English Edition" Best Online Newspaper
One person was fatally shot Wednesday evening outside of Hurricane Harbor water park in Arlington, police said.
The shooting happened about 7 p.m., closing time at the park, which is near Interstate 30 and East Lamar Boulevard.
An Arlington officer who was working off-duty at the park was investigating the sound of vehicle horns in the parking lot just outside the front entrance when he saw six to eight people fighting, Deputy Police Chief Christopher Cook said.
The officer was trying to break up the fight when he heard a gunshot and saw the victim, Cook said. The victim, who police believe was a boy about 16 years old, died at Arlington Memorial Hospital while surrounded by family and friends, Cook said.
All of the people who were part of the fight probably had been inside the park, he said. What led to the dispute had not been determined, and several people who were detained denied involvement, he said.
Police arrived at the scene quickly and closed off all exits to the park, Cook said. The off-duty officer saw some vehicles speeding from the scene after the gunshot was heard.
Cook said officers stopped one vehicle that was trying to flee. The car was carrying several people — all believed to be teenagers — who police suspect were involved in the fight.
Witnesses said the people in the car were involved, he said, but police were still working to confirm that.
“Witnesses see different things, and in the chaos — especially with the gunshot and apparently people were running — people see different vehicles, and so we have to determine if they’re involved,” he said. “We do have certain tests we can do to determine their involvement. If they’re not involved, then certainly they’ll be released.”
At least three police cars were at the closed-off park about two hours after the shooting. Cook said investigative teams were at the scene and officers planned to sift through any video footage that may have captured the shooting to piece together what happened.
“We are asking anyone who may have witnessed the shooting or has information about this incident to come forward and report it,” the Police Department said late Wednesday.