A 12-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man have been charged with murder after the teenager fatally shot an employee at a Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Texas, police said.
The shooting happened Saturday night at the Sonic in the 300 block of South Old Betsy Road in Keene, local police said. Keene is about 30 miles south of Fort Worth.
Angel Gomez, 20, went to Sonic in a car with other passengers and was acting “disorderly” in the parking lot when he was confronted by Sonic worker Matthew Davis, 32, authorities said.
Keene Police Chief James Kidd said Davis confronted Gomez for urinating in the parking lot, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported.
The two argued and the confrontation turned physical, police said.
During the argument, a Fort Worth youth who was a passenger in the suspect’s vehicle retrieved a firearm and fired several shots, striking the victim, police said in a statement.
Kidd said the shooter is believed to be a 12-year-old juvenile.
He said the weapon used in the attack appeared to be an “AR-style” rifle and it appeared that “at least six shots” were fired and struck the victim.
Police said the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident that was not racially motivated or gang-related.
Officers were called to the scene shortly after 1 p.m. 21:30 local time, but Gomez and the young man had already fled the shooting area.
Officers found Davis “lying in the parking lot having suffered multiple gunshot wounds,” police said.
He was flown to Harris Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Gomez eventually returned to the scene and was arrested. Police said law enforcement found the juvenile in Rio Vista, took him into custody and recovered several firearms.
Davis leaves behind a 10-year-old son, according to a fundraiser to support his family and cover funeral costs. As of Tuesday, the fundraiser has raised over $10,000.
Sonic said in a statement: “We were saddened to learn of the tragedy involving a franchise member in Keene, TX. The franchisee is cooperating fully with local authorities as they conduct their investigation.”
