More details emerge in Fort Worth drive-by shooting that injured 6, including children
The five suspects arrested in the May 1 shooting at a west Fort Worth apartment were targeting a man who had made threats against one of the suspects, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Six people, including four children, were injured on May 1 after shots were fired outside the Miramar apartments at 3064 Las Vegas Trail.
When officers responded to the scene of the shooting, they found six victims with gunshot wounds. A 3-year-old, Me’chelle Kinney, was shot in the abdomen. Her 6-year-old brother, Ka’deon Kinney, and a 7-year-old were each shot in the leg.
Me’chelle was the most critically injured of all the victims. She had to undergo multiple surgeries, including aurger in which her right kidney was removed. Ka’deon had to have a metal plate inserted in his leg after a bullet hit his femur.
A 14-year-old was shot in the buttocks, and a 19-year-old was shot in the thigh, the warrant states. Another 14-year-old was grazed in the leg.
The 14-year-old grazed in the leg was OK, he told KXAS-TV. The 19-year-old victim, Tanzania Day, now requires crutches to walk after being shot in the leg.
The five suspects arrested in the shooting each face six counts of aggravated assault causing bodily harm-discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, and one count of deadly conduct discharge firearm at a habitation.
The suspects are identified as:
Jamal Piper, 17, of Fort Worth
Hayden Bates-Vellmure, 18, of Fort Worth
Jordan Elijah Jackson, 20, of Fort Worth
Allan Gilbert, 18, of Dallas
Patrick Biscoe, 19, of Dallas
Officers identified a 2023 Kia Soul as the suspect vehicle. According to apartment surveillance video obtained by police, the car is seen driving past and shooting at a group of children and adults standing outside of an entryway to the apartment building.
Hours after the shooting, detectives located the suspect vehicle at an apartment complex and saw multiple people surrounding the car. As the vehicle began leaving the apartment, officers stopped the vehicle and detained three people, including Vellmure and his mother.
In an interview with police, Vellmure said he had borrowed the vehicle and was not involved in the shooting.
He also told police that he had sexual intercourse with a woman whose child’s father found out and began threatening Vellmure on social media. The father told Vellmure that he was going to hurt him and his family, the warrant says.
Hayden knew that the father lived at the Miramar apartments and he got into the vehicle with four other males. He saw the father outside with a large group of people as Vellmure was driving the vehicle. He passed by the apartment once, came around again, and “let off fire,” he told police.
Suspects referred to in the warrant as “AJ”— Gillbert — and “Pat” — Biscoe — shot while Vellmure was driving. According to Vellmure’s interview with police, he heard about 10 or 15 gunshots.
He told police that he and Piper, a man he referred to as “Peanut” — who police identified as Jackson — were in the vehicle, but were not firing at the apartments and that they did not have weapons on them. They picked up the other two suspects Biscoe and Gillbert from Dallas.
In text messages between Vellmure and Piper, police found a screenshot that had the address 8600 Las Vegas Ct. with an apartment number, which is located at an apartment complex north of the Miramar apartments.
Vellmure texted Piper, “I got the whole lo,” referring to the location, according to the warrant.
Officers interviewed Piper the day after the shooting, and said he was “dishonest about his involvement in the shooting,” the warrant reads.
The interview with police ended when an officer tried to seize Piper’s phone and the suspect attempted to flee, according to the warrant. He was arrested on a charge of interference with public duties.
While in police custody, Piper confessed that he was inside the suspect vehicle at the time of the shooting with Vellmure, Jackson, Gillbert, and a man he knew as Vellmure’s friend, Biscoe.
Piper told officers Vellmure organized the shooting and picked up the suspects to get them together, according to his interview with police.
When passing by the apartment, Piper did not locate the man Vellmure was targeting, the warrant says. When they passed a second time, Vellmure said “there he goes” and “to shoot”. Biscoe shot from the passenger seat and Gillbert shot from the rear right window, Piper said in his interview.
On May 15, Jackson was apprehended by police during a traffic stop for a probation violation warrant. He provided authorities with fake identifying information, according to the warrant.
Piper, Jackson, Gillbert, and Biscoe all have criminal histories, including shooting and homicide investigations, according to police.