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The teenager who was fatally shot outside Arlington’s Hurricane Harbor water park was identified Thursday as a 16-year-old Arlington ISD student.
No arrests had been announced as authorities continued to piece together what led to the Wednesday evening slaying.
The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office said Dai’trell “Daidai” Teal was shot in the back.
He attended Martin High School in Arlington ISD and would have been a junior in the fall.
“With a heavy heart, the Arlington ISD reports that one of our students was shot and killed last night,” Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos said in a written statement Thursday.
The shooting happened about 7 p.m. Wednesday, closing time at the park near Interstate 30 and East Lamar Boulevard.
An Arlington officer working off duty at Hurricane Harbor was investigating vehicles honking in the parking lot just outside the entrance when he saw six to eight people fighting, Deputy Police Chief Christopher Cook said Wednesday evening.
Cook said the officer was trying to break up the fight when he heard a gunshot and saw the victim.
Teal died at Texas Health Arlington Memorial while surrounded by family and friends, Cook said.
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All the people involved in the fight probably had been inside the park, Cook said. What led to the dispute had not been determined, and several people who were detained denied involvement, he said.
Police arrived at Hurricane Harbor quickly and closed off all exits to the park, Cook said. The off-duty officer saw some vehicles speeding away after the shooting.
Cook said officers stopped one vehicle that was trying to flee. The car was carrying several people — all believed to be teenagers — who witnesses said had been involved in the fight. 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,” Cook said. “We do have certain tests we can do to determine their involvement. If they’re not involved, then certainly they’ll be released.”
Six Flags Over Texas posted on Twitter that its “deepest sympathies are with the victim’s family.” Arlington-based Six Flags operates the Hurricane Harbor chain of water parks.
Cook said officers planned to examine any video that may have captured the shooting.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Detective Simmons at 817-459-5735 or Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477.