Tarrant County

Police Search For Killer of 17-Year-Old in Fort Worth

Fort Worth police are trying to find the person who shot and killed a 17-year-old in the driveway of his home early Sunday morning.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office reported the victim as Demarian Jones.

It happened in the 3400 block of Stonewall Lane.

Police said they were called to home for a shooting call. When they arrived, officers found the victim in the driveway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say he got into an argument with someone before he was shot. Neighbors reported hearing a series of gunshots.

Friends say Jones was turning his life around. He moved to Fort Worth a few years ago to go to school and play basketball.

"I want him to be remembered as a good man," said friend Robert Thornton.

Thornton and Jones would see each other daily to play pickup basketball in their neighborhood. The pair became best friends.

Thornton said he and Jones were together at a friend's birthday party a few hours before the shooting.  Thornton walked home before midnight to go to bed.

He learned of Jones' death before church on Sunday morning.

"I don't see him as a friend. I see him as a brother," said Thornton. "He was always there for me. It's my time to stand tall and be there for him, and keep going with my life."

Thornton's father, Reggie Walker, described Jones as a jokester and "the life of the party."

"He had a smile that would light his whole face up. He was a real funny kid," said Walker. "He wanted to work, he wanted to make money, he wanted his diploma, he wanted to be the first one in his family to get his high school diploma."

The suspect is still at large.

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