FORT WORTH, Texas — Helen Portis is one of several homeowners in southwest Fort Worth who says they called the police about illegal fireworks activity on the Fourth of July. She lives just a few feet from the Crystal Clean Car Wash on West Cleburne Road.
Poris told WFAA that she made a second call to the police after realizing the fireworks she heard ended up being gunfire.
"One of those bullets could have come in my house, it could have shot me," Helen Portis said.
Portis is concerned about what happened that night at the car wash near her home. She told WFAA she started hearing fireworks around 8 p.m. from crowds gathered in the bays at the car wash.
There are signs warning patrons they are under 24-hour surveillance, 7 days a week. Still, Portis says dozens of people had gathered to celebrate the holiday at the car wash with illegal fireworks.
"Of course, I called the police to let them know they are popping fireworks," said Helen Portis, "Then I heard, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, real fast rapid gunfire."
When Fort Worth Police Officers arrived at the car wash following what Portis describes as her second call, they found Terrell Wynn, who had been shot. He later died at the hospital.
A spokesperson for Fort Worth Police says officers learned that three others who were shot went to the hospital on their own with non-life-threatening injuries.
But the most heartbreaking part for Helen was learning gunfire also killed two little girls – a 1-year-old, and a 4-year-old.
"To think that children are getting killed when it's unnecessary and could have been avoided," said Portis.
Police say the shooting started during a fight between one of the victims and 27-year-old Kanard Trent Murphy, who also suffered a non-life-threatening injury.
An arrest affidavit revealed that Murphy had gone to the large gathering to see his less than 1-year-old daughter, who was with her mother at the time.
According to the affidavit, prior domestic violence issues between Kanard and the mother caused some of her relatives to dislike Kanard and when he arrived at the party, one of them confronted him about it.
Initially, the affidavit states that Kanard was preparing for a fistfight. However, once he put his child, who he had been holding, in his car, he turned back around with a rifle in his hands.
It was at this time that Kanard began firing his rifle at the relative as he turned and ran away, the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, Kanard chased the relative, continuing to fire the gun in his direction, despite him being unarmed.
The affidavit states that the relative ran toward a parked car in the car wash parking lot and Kanard, who was still firing at him, hit the back of the car several times.
Inside the backseat of the car was the 1-year-old and the 4-year-old girl, along with their older sister, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states that both little girls were shot in the torso. The older sister was hit in the hand, causing non-life-threatening injuries.
Kanard's gunfire also hit Wynn in the leg, which later led to his death.
Following this shower of gunfire, an unknown shooter fired at Kanard, hitting him in the upper back and causing him to drop the gun, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states that a bystander ran and picked up the gun before Kanard could get it back and continue shooting.
According to Fort Worth PD, the rifle was a .300 blackout, matching the shell casings found in the area where the victims were shot.
The arrest affidavit states that both little girls were pronounced dead after being taken to Harris Southwest Hospital by friends and family members.
Prosecutors have charged Murphy with capital murder for the three victims. After a doctor determines he is stable enough to leave the hospital, he will be transported to the Tarrant County Jail and booked on the charge.
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes reacted to the shooting saying, "My heart breaks for the families who are waking up after the Fourth of July, a day meant for celebration, to grieve the loss of young lives taken from senseless crime."
It's a senseless crime happening too close for comfort for Helen Portis, who wants to see changes in her neighborhood. She believes the car wash is attracting the wrong kind of activity to the neighborhood.
Helen Portis said, "I have been here 15 years. I am constantly calling, Y'all need to come check the car wash, Y'all need to come check the car wash."
Portis plans to join and recruit other homeowners in the neighborhood to address what they suspect is criminal activity at the car wash. They also plan to bring it to the attention of Fort Worth City Councilman Dr. Jared Williams.
The Fourth of July shooting happened in Fort Worth City Council District 6, where Williams was elected to represent that part of the city and voters.
In a statement about the mass shooting, Dr. Williams wrote: "I am saddened by last night's shooting and praying for the families affected. The city must continue to invest in community violence intervention strategies especially those that address gun violence here in Fort Worth."
The family of the girls killed created a GoFundMe for the two: 1-year-old Wynter Thouston and the 4-year-old Ivy Pierce. They tell WFAA, they're currently preparing for their funerals.