Fort Worth shooting: Dramatic video captures chaos at ComoFest two of three victims identified
Follow updates on the July 4 gun violence in Fort Worth including the mass shooting at ComoFest
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Dramatic footage has captured the chaotic moment that gunfire erupted at Fort Worth’s ComoFest on the eve of July 4, leaving three victims dead.
The video shows terrified revellers fleeing as shots are fired into the crowd.
Police in Fort Worth, Texas, said that no suspects have been identified but that “several unknown males were reported to have started firing into the crowd indiscriminately and then fled the scene”.
Two of the three victims killed were identified on Tuesday as Cynthia Santos, 22, and Paul Willis, 18.
The incident marked just one of four shootings that left at least 17 people shot – three of them fatally – in Fort Worth, Texas, on the night of July 3.
The other three shoootings took place at a home, an AMC movie theatre, and in a car.
Following a wave of shootings this week, President Joe Biden renewed his calls for Congress to act and “come to the table on meaningful, common sense reform” on gun control.
Four shootings in Fort Worth on eve of July 4
On the eve of July 4 holiday, a total of 17 people were shot in four separate shootings across Fort Worth.
Just over an hour before the mass shooting at ComoFest, Fort Worth Police were called to a separate incident where three men were shot.
It was just after 10pm on Monday night and police said a fight broke out between a group of people at a home in the 2100 block of Christine Avenue in the Polytechnic Heights area.
At least two people opened fire, striking three people.
Officers responded to the scene to find three men suffering from gunshot wounds – one in the head, one in the back and one in the leg.
All three were taken to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Fort Worth police also responded to a third shooting – this time to the 4000 block of Knox Street where a man and woman had been shot.
The woman was shot in the ankle and the man suffered an injury to the hand – from either a bullet or flying glass – while they were riding in a car, police said.
A suspect was taken into custody with the gang unit now investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, in a fourth incident, a man was shot at the AMC theatre on Hulen Boulevard just after 1.30am on Tuesday.
The shooting again began as a fight between a group of people, prompting gunfire to erupt. The victim’s condition is currently unknown.
Ilhan Omar calls for action to tackle ‘national crisis’ of mass shootings
“There have been at least *six* mass shootings in the past three days. Enough. This is a national crisis. For the sake of our kids and our society we need comprehensive gun safety legislation,” tweeted Ilhan Omar.
America’s deadly Independence Day
Beyond Texas, other communities in the US were also rocked by gun violence throughout the Independence Day holiday.
Over in Philadelphia, five people were killed and at least two others wounded in the Kingsessing neighbourhood on Monday night, when a gunman dressed in a bullet-proof vest and armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a handgun opened fire.
The mass shooting unfolded at around 8.30pm when Philadelphia police said the 40-year-old suspect left his home and began shooting at victims.
Police initially said that four men were killed but early on Tuesday revealed that a fifth victim, a 31-year-old man, had since been found dead inside a home. Two children – aged two and 13 – were also injured in the shooting but are in stable condition.
The suspect was arrested on the scene. As well as the two firearms, he was also found with a police scanner.
Police said the motive remains unknown but that there is no known connection between the suspect and victims.
This came after a mass shooting at a July 4 block party in Baltimore in the early hours of Sunday morning left two dead.
At around 12.35am on Sunday, Baltimore police received multiple calls reporting a shooting on the 800 block of Gretna Court.
Officers responded to the scene, where the community had been holding its annual Brooklyn Day block party, to find 30 victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
One 18-year-old woman – Aaliyah Gonzalez – was pronounced dead on the scene while nine victims were rushed to local hospitals and 20 walked into area hospitals across the region. A 20-year-old man – Kylis Fagbemi – died at the hospital from his injuries. No arrests have been made.
President Biden releases statement on July 4 gun violence
“Over the last few days, our nation has once again endured a wave of tragic and senseless shootings in communities across America — from Philadelphia to Fort Worth, Baltimore to Lansing, Wichita to Chicago. Today, Jill and I grieve for those who have lost their lives and, as our nation celebrates Independence Day, we pray for the day when our communities will be free from gun violence. “Today also marks one year since a shooter armed with an AR-15-style weapon fired upon a crowd of Americans gathered for an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois. In mere moments, this day of patriotic pride became a scene of pain and tragedy. “In the year since, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, legislative leaders, and numerous advocates, and gun violence survivors have fought tirelessly to turn the pain of Highland Park and other acts of gun violence into meaningful action on behalf of all Illinoisans. This past January, they succeeded in banning assault weapons – like the one used in Highland Park – as well as high-capacity magazines across Illinois. “Their achievement will save lives. But it will not erase their grief. It will not bring back the seven Americans killed in Highland Park or heal the injuries and trauma that scores of others will continue to carry. And as we have seen over the last few days, much more must be done in Illinois and across America to address the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing our communities apart. “It is within our power to once again ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to require safe storage of guns, to end gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and to enact universal background checks. I urge other states to follow Illinois’ lead, and continue to call upon Republican lawmakers in Congress to come to the table on meaningful, commonsense reforms that the American people support.”
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker says she is ‘devastated’ by mass shooting
“I am devastated by the news of a mass shooting in Fort Worth last night,” she tweeted.
“My heart breaks for the victims, their loved ones, and the entire Como community that works to build positivity and celebration in their community and our city.”
America’s gun violence in numbers
So far in 2023, 340 mass shootings have taken place across America, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
This means this year is on track to record 679 mass shootings – the highest number since 2014.
This would also be a 61 percent increase from the 417 recorded in 2019, the year before Covid-19 ravaged the nation.
Two victims identified in Forth Worth mass shooting
Two of the victims killed during a mass shooting on Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, have been identified.
Cynthia Santos, 22, and Paul Willis, 18, were both killed in the shooting, according to WFAA.
One other person was killed, and eight others were injured.
America’s mass shooting crisis, in numbers: More than halfway through 2023, US on pace for record-setting year
Before the end of a long Fourth of July holiday weekend, more than 75 people were injured and at least 11 people were killed in nearly a dozen mass shootings across the country, accelerating an already fast-moving rate of mass acts of gun violence in the US this year.
At least 346 mass shootings were recorded within the first six months of 2023 and through the July 4 weekend, a rate of at least one every day, and outpacing the rates of mass shootings at similar points in the calendar in previous years.
Three people were killed and eight others were wounded in a mass shooting at a festival in Fort Worth, Texas on 3 July. Five people were killed and two others were injured when a gunman in a bulletproof vest fired into a crowd of strangers in Philadelphia that same night.
And in Baltimore, two people were fatally shot and 28 others – half of which were children – were injured in a hail of gunfire during a block party in Baltimore on 2 July.
The deadly incidents underscore the nation’s failure to combat an epidemic of gun violence even as officials across the US and in the highest courts in the country loosen gun laws and make it easier to arm Americans in public.
READ MORE:
America’s mass shooting crisis, in numbers
The US has recorded at least one mass act of gun violence every day, underscored by a chaotic July 4 holiday
Shooting marks second at annual ComoFest
The mass shooting came just hours after the neighbourhood’s annual ComoFest came to an end.
This isn’t the first time Fort Worth’s ComoFest ended in tragedy.
Two years ago in 2021, eight people were shot close to a car wash on Horne Street during the celebrations. All shooting victims survived back then.
Over in Philadelphia: Five killed in mass shooting
Five people have been killed and at least two others wounded in the Kingsessing neighbourhood of Philadelphia on Monday night, when a gunman dressed in a bullet-proof vest and armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a handgun opened fire.
The mass shooting unfolded at around 8.30pm when Philadelphia police said the 40-year-old suspect left his home and began shooting at victims.
Police initially said that four men were killed but early on Tuesday revealed that a fifth victim, a 31-year-old man, had since been found dead inside a home. Two children – aged two and 13 – were also injured in the shooting but are in stable condition.
Read more here:
Five killed in Philadelphia mass shooting are identified – live
philadelphia mass shooting news today
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