A juvenile boy waiting for his mother outside a Dollar Tree on Fort Worth's east side was pulled from a vehicle at gunpoint, police say, in a brazen carjacking that ended with the stolen car wrecked a few miles away and the suspect running from the scene on foot.
According to Fort Worth Police
, the incident happened around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of the Dollar Tree in the 4200 block of E. Lancaster Ave., where the juvenile was sitting inside a vehicle waiting for his mother. Police say the suspect entered the vehicle and pointed a gun at the boy.
The suspect then forced the juvenile out of the vehicle at gunpoint and drove off, police said. The stolen vehicle didn't get far — officers say the suspect wrecked it a few miles away in the 2200 block of Miller Ave. before abandoning it and taking off on foot.
Suspect Description Includes a Distinctive Detail
Police describe the suspect as a Black male believed to be in his mid-twenties, last seen wearing jeans, a black hoodie, and a medical mask. Investigators say he is believed to be missing his left hand, which may have been wrapped in a bandage at the time of the robbery — a detail police hope could help the public identify him.
After crashing the vehicle, the suspect was last seen running east on Ramey Ave. before turning south on Pate Street, according to the same police account. No further details on his whereabouts have been released.
The incident is a violent taking, distinct from the broader vehicle-theft totals tracked by the city. Fort Worth recorded 2,837 vehicles stolen from May 1 through Oct. 31, 2024, a 4.1% increase over the same period in 2023; Chevrolet models were the most frequently targeted, followed by Kia and Hyundai. Those citywide figures cover vehicle theft overall, not carjackings specifically, as detailed in coverage of the Fort Worth City Council presentation.
Texas law treats a taking by threat or force as robbery; when a person uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during a robbery, the offense is classified as aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony. The allegation that a gun was used makes that legal framework relevant, though police have not announced charges in this case. The state’s robbery statute sets out that distinction.
How to Report Information
Fort Worth Police are asking anyone with information to contact the detective assigned to the case at 817-392-4377. The department listed the report number as 260086099 for reference. Residents can also call 911 for emergencies or 817-392-4222 for non-emergency matters.
