Texas 12-year-old charged with murder, accused of killing Sonic employee – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

A 12-year-old and a 20-year-old both face a charge of murder after a restaurant employee was shot during an argument with a customer Saturday night in Keene.

Flowers and a cross now stand outside the Sonic Drive-In on Old Betsy Road in Keene. It’s a growing memorial for Matthew Davis, a 32-year-old employee and father who was shot and killed while on the job Saturday night.

According to a statement from Keene Police, the shooting happened around 9:40 p.m. Saturday. That’s when Keene Police Chief James Kidd said Davis confronted a customer, identified as 20-year-old Angel Gomez, for urinating in the parking lot.

The confrontation turned physical, and a 12-year-old who was in Gomez’s car pulled out an assault rifle and fired six shots at Davis, Kidd said.

Davis was hit several times and was taken by air ambulance to a nearby hospital, but he did not survive.

Gomez and the juvenile fled at first, but were arrested later that night. Gomez returned to the restaurant and the 12-year-old was arrested in Rio Vista, police said.

Because he is a juvenile, the 12-year-old’s name is not being released. Both he and Gomez are charged with murder.

The restaurant remained closed Monday while neighbors stopped by to leave flowers. Resident Jane Baggett said she felt compelled to do something.

“I wish there was more we could do, but right now, if they could just see that support and love, and maybe, even though we didn’t know him, [know] his life meant something to many of us,” Baggett said.

A GoFundMe has been started to help Davis’ family cover funeral expenses and support his 10-year-old son.

A spokesperson for Sonic released the following statement:

“We are sorry to hear of the tragedy involving a franchise member in Keene, TX. The franchisee is cooperating fully with local authorities as they conduct their investigation.”

Keene is about 30 miles south of Fort Worth in Johnson County.