Hello, I'm Fort Worth
Police Chiefs Neil Noakes.
I'm here to provide you with upd
information concerning an officerinvolved
shooting that occurred on July ,
2023 involving a Fort Worth Pole
Officer and a Fort Worth Fire Department
Arson Investigator who is the fe
department employee trained and licensed
as an armed Texas Peace Officern
the evening of July 4th and into
the early morning hours of July.
The Forward Police and Fire
departments were working togethr
to proactively address illegal
fireworks activity in the city.
The Forward PD officer and the n
investigator were working as a o
person team assigned to this del
and responding to fireworks complaints.
At approximately 9:20 PM on July 4th,
this team was dispatched to a fireworks
disturbance call at the corner f
Ross and 32nd Street where there
was a large block party going o.
And spoke with the residents ate
location about the disturbance t
did not observe active fireworks
activity at that time.
At around 12:25 AM,
this team was dispatched to a cl
in another part of the city and
on the way drove past the block
party at Ross and 32nd.
Upon arrival,
the officers observed and appary
injured Hispanic male walking ay
from another male holding a fir.
The officers got out of their vehicle and
began walking toward the house at the corner,
which was the location of the
block party and the crowd.
At the same time,
the officers were stopping to investigate.
Forward PD911 dispatchers receid
a call from a neighbor about a
disturbance with people fighting
at the corner of Ross and 32nd .
Fort Worth police on 054.
What's the address you're calling about?
So there is a block party on
the intersection of Ross Ave.
and 30 seconds.
OK, Ross, 30 seconds. Yeah.
And there's a lot of screaming, crying.
I think they're having a
there's a big altercation
there. It's a big old fight.
OK. Yes, ma'am. Oh, my God.
They just helped. They just sho.
As the forest officer approache,
A gunshot was heard.
And a black male, later identifd
as 21 year old Billy Smith,
could be seen standing
and pointing A firearm.
And what officers later
learned was Hispanic male on
the ground next to an SUV.
Perceiving an imminent threat to
a third party, the 4th officer
fired his handgun at Smith,
striking him multiple times.
Smith fell to the ground. Please
get down.
At the same time this was occur,
the arson investigator who was
standing in the front yard to te
officer's left observed a second male,
later identified as 30
year old Bronshay Mentor,
with a pistol in his hand.
The pistol had a weapon light activated
which was shining in the direction of
officers and the person on the ground.
At this moment,
officers heard two shots fired
if here for the safety of himse,
the Fort Worth officer and
others at the location.
The arson investigator
fired his handgun at Mentor.
The Fort Worth officer also fired at Mentor.
Minter was struck and fell to the ground,
dropping the pistol.
He then got up and ran South and around
the corner of the house to the .
When the Fort Worth officer approached
Smith where he had fallen on the ground,
he observed A semiautomatic
pistol and removed the,
placing it on the ground behind.
The pistol was that was dropped
by Mentor can also be seen lying
on the grass where he fell.
Two spin shell casings matching the caliber
of Mentor's pistol were found close by.
Investigators also found a leather SAP,
also known as a blackjack,
on the ground next to the pisto.
The arson investigator moved to the corner
of the house where he encountered a male who
was shot in the leg and provided aid to him.
During this incident, a Hispanic male
was sitting on the curb next to the SUV.
He appeared to have been injure.
Later investigation revealed the
had been shot, stabbed and beat.
The male and a female then left
the scene in a vehicle,
but officers were able to make
contact with them later.
Additional backup officers arrived and
began establishing control of the scene.
Officers located two additional
gunshot victims, a male and a female.
An additional male was observed on scene
with an apparent gunshot wound to the arm.
However, that person did not remain on scene,
did not identify himself,
and investigators have been
unable to locate that male.
Once MedStar arrived,
Smith was pronounced deceased on the scene.
Mentor was transported to a local hospital
and pronounced deceased at the hospital.
It is important to emphasize that there's
still much more information thae
need to gather about this incid.
Investigators are still attemptg
to locate and speak with several
witnesses who were present that night.
But left before police could interview them,
who we believe may be able to sd
a lot on exactly what happened.