Fort Worth leaders express horror at Como shooting, while lauding community’s resilience

Fort Worth leaders expressed anger and frustration Tuesday after a shooting in the city’s Lake Como neighborhood left three dead and eight injured.

While noting the investigation was ongoing, Mayor Mattie Parker was quick to say she didn’t believe those responsible for the shooting were from the neighborhood. The shooting followed ComoFest, the neighborhood’s annual Fourth of July celebration.

“I choose to believe this is a few bad perpetrators that came into this neighborhood to really wreak havoc,” Parker said.

Police Chief Neil Noakes praised the community for its resilience, pointing to the large turnout at its annual Fourth of July parade, where hundreds gathered less than 12 hours after the shooting.

“That event does not define Como. It’s the people who live here who define Como,” Noakes said.

Como is proud of its history and is always working to better itself and the city as a whole, said District council member Jared Williams, whose district includes the neighborhood.

He framed the shooting in the context of other mass shootings across the country, while arguing more can to be done address the issue.

Gun violence is senseless, and people need to find other ways to solve their problems, said District 3 council member Michael Crain, who represented Como prior to the city’s most recent redistricting process.

“Every time something like this happens, it’s a negative in an otherwise peaceful community where people are just living their lives,” Crain said.

Williams, Crain, Noakes and Parker all vowed the city would partner with the community in an effort to keep residents safe.

“We really owe it to this community to kind of unravel what happened and what we can do to prevent it in the future,” Parker said.

The mayor said she was heartbroken and furious after a beautiful day capped by the ComoFest celebration.

“They know how hard they worked to get to this place and to continue to redevelop this neighborhood and make it an even safer place to live and raise their family, and this does feel like a setback,” Parker said. “It feels like a setback as mayor, but I know it feels like a setback to the neighbors that are here.”

U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth wrote on Twitter that she was “heartbroken.”

“My heart goes out to the families dealing with this loss and to our law enforcement as they work to protect us all from senseless crime,” she wrote.