A Dallas Police Department officer shot a 19-year-old man following an overnight weekend shootout between two groups near Deep Ellum that left another man dead and four others wounded, authorities said Tuesday.
Tevin Valentine was shot by responding officers after he was found standing over an injured Caylen Fritz and attempted to run away, Chief Daniel Comeaux said at a news conference.
Fritz, 22, died after he was shot in the 100 block of South Good Latimer Expressway on Saturday, Comeaux said. The family of Valentine say he and Fritz were friends.
No charges have been filed as of Tuesday in connection with the death of Fritz, police said. But the investigation is ongoing, according to police.
Six people, including Valentine and Fritz were shot that night, Comeaux said.
Investigators determined that two groups of people were involved in several altercations near Deep Ellum area around 2:20 a.m.
The groups were fighting inside a parking lot in the 2600 block of Canton Street when several shots were fired and multiple people were wounded, Comeaux said.
Officers patrolling the area were flagged down in the 100 block of South Good Latimer Expressway by a person Comeaux said had been shot multiple times.
As officers helped the person, they were informed of gunshots coming from a nearby location. Officers ran south on Good Latimer Expressway and saw people running from the parking lot where the earlier fight had occurred, Comeaux said.
Inside the garage, Comeaux said they found Valentine with a gun and standing over Fritz who was on the ground.
In body-camera footage shown at the news conference, Officer Luis Garza-Fuantos is heard telling Valentine to put the gun down as Garza-Fuantos approaches.
Valentine ran away but then pointed the gun at the officer, who shot the suspect in his lower body, Comeaux said.
Police said the gun Valentine allegedly pointed at the officer had been reported stolen from University Park in 2022.
Valentine, Fritz and two others were taken to the hospital, where Fritz later died.
Valentine and Fritz were best friends, Valentine’s sister, Shuminique Valentine, said. The group that Valentine and Fritz had an altercation with wanted to “pick on” someone that both men knew, Shuminique said.
When the shooting happened, Valentine and Fritz were together, she said.
“The people on the other side was shooting his people, he was the only one that could try to protect them,” she said.
Valentine is still in the hospital, his sister said.
Police did not say if they have identified the person who shot Fritz. Police also have not said publicly if they know how many people were involved.