Fort Worth Police: 14-year-old fatally shot while trying to break into apartment

Fort Worth Police say a 14-year-old was shot and killed while trying to break into an apartment overnight near 5200 Southcrest Court.

A mentor told NBC 5 the teen was named Devin and that he'd been working through disciplinary issues at school but seemed to be responding well to guidance before the incident.

At about 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 14, Fort Worth Police said they received a call that multiple people were trying to break into a home on Southcrest Court. Officers came to the scene, left, and then got another call that the group was back.

When they returned, police said they found a 14-year-old boy who had been shot in the torso by someone inside the home. That teenager died at the scene.

“I was supposed to go up there today,” said community advocate Durwyn Lamb. “And as I was getting ready to go up there, I got a text that said he was murdered.”

The fatal shooting was a blow to Lamb, a longtime martial arts coach who has worked to guide troubled youth in south Fort Worth.

He told NBC 5 the boy was a student at Rosemont Middle School whom he was trying to mentor.

“Seemed like a bright kid from what I gathered, kind of reminded me a lot of myself,” Lamb said. “I was a troubled kid so I understand that energy, and I felt like he was a good kid, just had a talk with him about life.”

Lamb said Devin was dealing with disciplinary issues at school, but he seemed to respond well to their initial conversation.

It made the news of his death even harder.

“I shed tears because there’s a whole bunch of Devins in this world and this community,” Lamb said. “There’s a lot of young men, young Black males or Latino males losing their life in a sad way.”

“Our hearts are heavy as we have learned a student of the Rosemont family passed away,” Rosemont Middle School wrote in a notice to families. “Additional counseling staff will be available on campus for any student who needs assistance.”

Lamb said despite Devin being shot while allegedly trying to break into a home, he felt tremendous sympathy for him.

“You might be the perpetrator, or the victim, but essentially you’re still the victim when you’re 14 years old, making choices that you don’t even have the developed mind to make the choices that you’re making,” Lamb said.

The mentor said incidents like these showed the need for outreach to young men growing up in difficult circumstances.

“Use the mind that God gave you and desire to do something different,” Lamb said. “Because there’s so much more in this world than what you think and the things that you see.”

Fort Worth Police said the person who shot the 14-year-old is cooperating with the investigation, and no charges have been filed.