Fort Worth deadly shooting near West 7th stemmed from relationship dispute
FORT WORTH, Texas - The suspect in a weekend murder near Fort Worth’s West 7th Entertainment District was reportedly upset about his friend’s relationship choice.
Karlove Palmer, 29, is accused of shooting and killing 29-year-old Bryson Rodgers Saturday night outside a virtual reality business.
An arrest warrant affidavit provides more details about the motive for the shooting.
Palmer reportedly arrived at the location just as Rodgers arrived with his roommate and their two female dates.
The affidavit states Palmer is friends with the woman who is dating Bryson’s roommate, but they hadn’t spoken in about a month because he did not approve of their on-again, off-again relationship.
Members of Rodgers’ group exchanged a few words with Palmer and then went inside.
"[Palmer] told [Rodgers’ roommate] they have been friends for 15 years, and that the issues they recently had were not important. [Rodgers’ roommate] agreed they were cool and did not want any issues with [Palmer]," the police document states.
The group came back out a few minutes later to vape while waiting for their game to start.
Palmer was across the street at the time and began to yell at them because "he hears them talking about him," the affidavit states.
According to the police document, Rodgers pretended he was going to slap someone. That apparently set Palmer off.
Palmer disappeared for a few minutes. When he returned, he yelled at Rodgers several times to "come slap me."
Rodgers and his group reportedly tried to defuse the argument, but Palmer continued yelling at them.
The affidavit goes on to say Palmer crossed the street and approached the group again.
"Bryson finally slipped off his slides, handed his phone to ‘someone’ as if to agree to fight Karlove," the document said. "As Bryson handed ‘the person’ his phone, Karlove shot at Bryson approximately five times."
Police say one brief argument with no other physical violence or weapons led to murder.
Palmer fled the scene before police arrived, but they were able to quickly identify him based on witness statements and cellphone video that showed the shooting.
Fort Worth West 7th deadly shooting suspect turns himself in
The man wanted for a deadly shooting in Fort Worth’s West 7th Entertainment District over the weekend has turned himself in. The surrender came after police announced on Monday that they knew who they were looking for.
It is a sad and frustrating issue for Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck, who represents the district that includes the West 7th Street District. The latest violence and developments have prompted more discussion about its safety enforcement.
"If there is something we can do better, my promise is that I will push the city to make sure we are doing it," she said.
Beck says stepped-up patrols, an open container ban, an upcoming ambassador program and an outside study underway are some steps taken thus far.
"We can’t control who goes down there. We can’t control the nature of the bars or restaurants, per se, but we can make sure we’re doing our part," she said. "Whether that’s additional lighting or a design change we make, we are looking to see how we can best accommodate our entertainment districts."
Palmer turned himself in on Monday after police announced they knew who they were looking for. He’s currently in the Tarrant County jail charged with murder.
Police said no one in Rodgers’ group had a weapon, and the fight had not yet turned physical.
The two men also didn’t know each other. They only had common friends, police said.