17-year-old boy shot during birthday party at Fort Worth church
FORT WORTH, Texas - A teenager Fort Worth police describe as an innocent victim was wounded just after a shooting at a birthday party.
It happened at a rented facility owned by a Fort Worth church.
Police say they're receiving tips and good information from witnesses at the birthday party. They also believe it’s a matter of time before that info will lead to the person who fired the gun.
"We only have one individual who was struck, but one is too many," said Fort Worth Officer Buddy Calzada.
A birthday party for a 16-year-old was hosted inside the single, detached building situated across the street from the main sanctuary of New Bethel Baptist Church. The church owns the building; however, police say the host is someone who rented the space and is not connected to the church.
"Toward the end of this party, we had a disturbance take place inside the location," Calzada said. "One individual, or at least one or more individuals, went outside to a vehicle, grabbed a weapon and started shooting at the location."
Police say during the gunfire and chaos, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the foot. Police do not believe the victim had anything to do with what was happening.
"We do not believe at this point that that individual had anything to do with the disturbance," Calzada said "What we have is just an innocent victim that was celebrating and is now suffering from a gunshot wound."
New Bethel Baptist Pastor Rev. Michael Moore, in a statement, says, "It saddens us to know that any celebration could end with senseless gun violence, injuring a victim. This incident occurred outside our New Bethel Baptist Church Family Life Center, which had been rented for a party. The event itself was not in any way affiliated with our church. We trust the Fort Worth Police Department will thoroughly investigate and identify the person or persons responsible for what happened."
Investigators are talking to multiple witnesses who attended the birthday party and are confident the information being gathered will lead to an arrest.
The church points out security detail was present at the party, partygoers were screened and a wand was used to detect weapons. The gun was inside a vehicle and was fired in the parking area.
Police say the person responsible is likely to face charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.