Fort Worth July 4 shooting: Grieving family honors 2 sisters killed while watching fireworks
FORT WORTH, Texas - Grieving family members and community leaders and members gathered to honor two sisters who were murdered during a Fourth of July gathering.
Pink and white balloons were released Friday at a Fort Worth funeral home where the family will say goodbye to 1-year-old Wynter Thouston and 4-year-old Ivy Pierce.
The two girls were struck by gunfire while riding in the backseat of a car.
The family tells FOX 4 they went to a Fort Worth car wash parking lot to watch fireworks. They were all getting into their vehicle to leave when someone started shooting, killing the two young girls.
Sharde Mills was torn apart while standing before a crowd honoring her two daughters who were killed.
"I want to thank each and every one of y’all for coming out and being here," she told the crowd before being overwhelmed with emotions.
Each person held a balloon and let it go in honor of two young lives lost.
"They were just so sweet. So sweet," Mills said. "They were my noise. My house is so quiet now without my babies."
15-month-old Wynter and 4-year-old Ivy were killed on July 4 when a fight escalated into gunfire outside of a Fort Worth car wash. The girls were sitting inside a vehicle when bullets came through the back seat.
Other children were also in the vehicle but survived.
42-year-old Terrell Winn was also killed that evening. Police say he was also an innocent bystander.
According to court documents, 27-year-old Kanard Murphy arrived at the gathering to see his 11-month-old daughter.
Witnesses say there were previous domestic violence issues between Murphy and the mother of his child, and her relatives didn’t like him.
Just before midnight, police say Murphy and one of those relatives got into a fight that escalated when he put his daughter into his car, pulled out a rifle and started opening fire in the parking lot.
Suspect put down baby to pull out rifle in Fort Worth shooting that killed 3, including 2 children, docs say
27-year-old Kanard Murphy put his daughter in a car and when he stood back up he had a rifle in his hands, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
That’s when another person shot Murphy in the back, causing him to drop the rifle.
In total, six people were hit.
"We have to understand these moments are not normal," said Pastor Rodney McIntosh, who spoke at the event. "This mother should not be living through this. And this father should not be living through this."
Murphy was arrested last Friday. He was in the hospital for a day and was then booked into the Tarrant County jail. He faces a charge of capital murder of multiple persons.
The funeral for the two sisters will be held on Saturday.