Man shot during attempted car burglary in White Settlement
WHITE SETTLEMENT (CBSNewsTexas) - Newly-released surveillance video shows four people White Settlement police say are linked to a rash of car burglaries and a Sunday morning shooting.
The victim of that April 30 shooting in the 8200 block of Sussex Street survived, after a bullet grazed him in the leg.
"I am outraged by the reckless disregard for human life while committing multiple vehicle burglaries across our city streets," said Police Chief Christopher Cook.
The victim told officers he was inside his car in the driveway when one of the suspects walked up to open his car door. Police said this was likely an attempt to steal items from inside the car. But the victim confronted the thief who then took off. But not before shooting twice toward the victim. Police said one bullet struck the victim's car and then ricocheted into his leg. The second projectile struck a neighbor's car next door. Both projectiles were collected and sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBN).
As officers and detectives canvassed the area, multiple neighbors released video footage of the four possible suspects, believed to be in their mid-teens to early 20s. All of the suspects were wearing multiple layers of clothing and face coverings. In one of the videos, the suspect is seen holding a black handgun and pointing it at other houses while lifting door handles to vehicles.
"These teens need to come forward and turn themselves in. I am confident that we will solve this case based upon evidence found at the scene. It is extremely sad that teens are out walking around at 3 a.m. carrying a handgun and burglarizing our resident's vehicles. This case could have been much worse if the rounds had struck our victim. Officers were literally seconds away from the teens fleeing over neighbor's fences with the gun last night," said Chief Cook.
The circumstances of the crime are similar to a February shooting in Arlington that killed a man.
Ali Ismail was pulling into his own driveway when he surprised two suspects who were seen pulling on car doors in the neighborhood. One of them shot Ismail, killing him.
Arlington Police have not identified any suspects in the case, but said Monday investigators are working on obtaining digital evidence they hope will give them a lead. There is no evidence linking the shooting to what happened in White Settlement or to any other car burglaries in the area.
The department has asked anyone who has video, information or knows who the suspects are, to please contact Detective Page at 817-246-7070 Ext. 114 or investigator@wspd.us or by calling Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS.
Tipsters may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
