Suspect put down baby to pull out rifle in Fort Worth shooting that killed 3, including 2 children, docs say
FORT WORTH, Texas - Court documents obtained by FOX 4 reveal more about what led to a Fort Worth shooting on the Fourth of July that killed three people, including a 4-year-old and 1-year-old.
According to the documents, 27-year-old Kanard Murphy went to an Independence Day gathering at a car wash on Cleburne Road in Fort Worth to see his 11-month-old daughter.
Witnesses told police due to prior domestic violence issues between Murphy and the baby's mother, there are relatives in her family who don't like him.
Just before midnight, one of those relatives got into a fight with Murphy.
At first, it appeared the two men were going to get into a fistfight.
Documents say Murphy leaned into a car to put down his daughter and when he stood up, he had a rifle in his hands and started shooting at the man who was unarmed.
None of the three people killed were involved in the initial fight.
Bullets struck the back of a vehicle and hit two sisters sitting in the backseat, 1-year-old Wynter Thouston and 4-year-old Ivy Pierce.
The children were taken to the hospital and later died.
The gunfire also hit 42-year-old Terrell Winn in the leg. He died from his injuries.
Terrell Winn
FOX 4 spoke with Winn's sister, Twyla, who said he moved to Texas from Louisiana to better his life. She says the family is still in shock.
"Life is so unfair, life is so unfair, and it is the innocent people that get hurt," Winn said.
Court documents say an unknown person shot Murphy in the back and he dropped the rifle.
Another person ran and picked up the rifle before Murphy could grab it and continue shooting.
When police spoke with Murphy, he told them that he pointed the rifle and attempted to shoot the relative of his baby's mother.
Winn, the victim's sister, could not confirm if her brother knew anyone at the gathering. She believes he was there to use the car wash.
"I just hate that he was caught at the wrong place at the wrong time," said Winn.
Her brother was set to celebrate his 43rd birthday in two weeks. He leaves behind a 21-year-old son.
"Those babies didn't deserve that, my brother didn't deserve that. I never liked Fourth of July. I know people shoot every day, but Fourth of July I feel like a lot of times they just shoot for no reason. But those babies didn't deserve that. Neither did my brother," said Winn.
Murphy is currently charged with capital murder of multiple persons.
Since he's still in the hospital, he has not been booked into jail.