‘He was such a loving person’: Family, police ask for info in Fort Worth shooting of teen
The Fort Worth Police Department is once again asking for the public’s help identifying a suspect in a shooting that killed Luis Carlos Laguna Jr. in November.
The victim, 19, who went by Carlos, was in the driver’s seat of a black truck waiting to leave a parking lot on Northwest 35th Street at around 2 a.m. Nov. 18. A Hispanic man who was with a group of Hispanic men and women shot Laguna, according to police. Laguna Jr. died at a hospital.
Police say there were multiple witnesses to the shooting, including the group the suspect was with.
The victim’s father, Luis Carlos Laguna Sr., told the Star-Telegram that his son was leaving a ranch party when a verbal altercation between two groups broke out.
“Why couldn’t they just leave it alone, you know?” Laguna Sr. said of the person who shot his son.
The family says there are several witnesses who haven’t spoken up about the shooting.
“That’s kind of where our frustration lies, is like these kids know that this happened,” said Laguna Sr. “Now, whether or not they meant for it to happen, you know, who knows? But for there to be a group of kids there at the time and for none of them to come forward and say, ‘Look, you know, we’re sorry, it was an accident. This is what happened.’ That’s what frustrates us.”
Laguna Jr., of Bedford, graduated from James W. Martin High School in May 2023 and was enrolled at Tarrant County College. He had started working at a Discount Tire just weeks before the shooting.
He had plans to earn his associate’s degree at the college and follow in his father’s footsteps by joining the Navy, where he would pursue his bachelor’s degree. He spent his free time dancing and listening to music.
“He would dance anywhere. We would be in the store and he would just be dancing to the music playing over the loudspeakers in the grocery store. ... He would dance anywhere at the drop of a hat,” said Laguna Sr.
Father and son would bond through the love they shared for Laguna Jr.’s truck.
“His pride and joy was his truck,” said his father. “Everything that that we did to that truck, we did together. Him and I worked on it, you know, hours on end in the garage, in the driveway. It was just something that he took pride in and a lot of people also knew him for his truck.”
Laguna Sr. said that people coming forward with information about the shooting will help bring the family closure.
“Even if somebody comes forward and we do find who did this, it’s not gonna bring him back and we know that, but we still want the public to say something if they know something,” he said.
“He was such a loving person. He loved everybody. He never had issues with anybody. He was never a troublemaker. He was going to school, he was working, but he was always with us. He was always with the family. I mean, we spent so much time together,” said Laguna Sr. “That’s one thing that’s so hard. He was so much part of our lives that now there’s this huge void that we can’t fill.”
Now, Laguna Jr.’s family must learn to cope with the loss.
“There’s nothing that I’ve experienced that hurts as much as this. I mean, every day is a struggle, but we have to keep pushing through,” said his father.
Memories of Laguna Jr. can be shared and viewed at his obituary.
The department’s Homicide Unit asks anyone who can assist in identifying the suspect to call Detective John Sullivan at 817-392-4340.
