‘Inevitable:’ Neighbors speak on shooting at Fort Worth car wash that killed 2 girls, man
In spite of a shooting that killed three people, including two young children, and wounded three more at a car wash in far southwest Fort Worth late Thursday, it was business as usual Friday morning.
Vehicles trickled in and out of the Crystal Clean Car Wash at 7524 W. Cleburne Road shortly after 11 a.m. Drivers soaped and rubbed down their cars and trucks, apparently unaware of the tragedy that had taken place less than 12 hours before.
Firework debris from the previous night was piled up in the far right bay. A cardboard box with more debris and other items, including a pink backpack, lay nearby.
Troy Cohron showed up to wash his truck.
“People are crazy,” he said when he heard about the shooting.
Cohron had found several casings from rifle shells in a park near his house earlier that morning — another remnant from Thursday night’s 4th of July celebrations in the area. People don’t know where to shoot, so they shoot their guns in the city, he said.
🚨 More top stories from our newsroom:
→ Did Fort Worth ISD break law with closed meeting on STAAR scores?
→ Fire destroys 50-year landmark Tex-Mex restaurant
→ Mom accused of abandoning baby to die in ditch charged 23 years later
[Get our breaking news alerts.]
Neighbors and those who work nearby say the car wash is a hangout spot where people gather every night, not just on holidays.
One man who came by after learning about the shooting told the Star-Telegram he stopped using the car wash because of the people who frequent the area. He’s never heard of any of the regulars who hang out there causing problems, he said, but others have come in, and he doesn’t feel safe there any more.
According to police, Thursday night’s shooting resulted from a fight between two men.
Officers responded to the scene around 11:40 p.m. after a 911 caller reported a man was lying wounded on the ground. The man, whose name has not been released, later died at a local hospital, as did two girls, 4-year-old Ivy Pierce and 1-year-old Wynter Thouston.
The suspect was also wounded in the exchange of gunfire, according to police. He’s been identified as 26-year-old Kanard Trent Murphy. He was booked into the city jail on Friday after undergoing medical evaluation at a hospital. Murphy faces a charge of capital murder of multiple persons.
Two other people who were wounded in the shooting are expected to survive, according to police.
“My heart breaks for the families who are waking up after the 4th of July, a day meant for celebration, to grieve the loss of young lives taken from senseless crime,” Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said in a statement. “We share in their grief and remain committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our community.”
One street over — a residential block with neat brick houses and well-manicured lawns — neighbors say they aren’t surprised by Thursday night’s bloodshed.
“This is inevitable,” said one resident, who asked not to be identified.
The man told the Star-Telegram that he’s lived in the neighborhood since 1988, and many people on the street have lived there as long or longer.
It used to be a peaceful area, he said, but in recent years the crowds that gather at the car wash every night and blast loud music have drastically affected the quality of life. Multiple calls to the police haven’t produced results, and things have only gotten worse, he said.
For a while the lights at the car wash were turned off at night to discourage groups from gathering, but now they are being left on again, the man said.
“We would love for it to go away,” he said of the car wash.
