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Suspect arrested in shooting that left 1 dead, 2 injured at La Gran Plaza: Fort Worth police
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Suspect arrested in shooting that left 1 dead, 2 injured at La Gran Plaza: Fort Worth police

A 19-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with the October 12 attacks. shooting at La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth that killed one person and injured two others, officials said.

Xavier Evans was booked into the Fort Worth City Jail on Wednesday, November 13. He faces a murder charge, according to police records.

According to Evans’ arrest warrant affidavit, a fight occurred after a football game at Herman Clark Stadium on the night of October 11. Fort Worth’s Dunbar High School played Benbrook High that night at the stadium. A person involved in the fight then went to Club LV at the La Gran Plaza shopping center, the warrant states.

When he left the nightclub, that person fought again with some of the same people he had fought with at the football game, police said. A mall security guard used a sledgehammer to break up the fight, according to the affidavit.

The individual involved in the fight was with a large group of people in the back of the parking lot. Around 2:15 a.m., someone got out of a black Dodge Durango and fired several shots into the crowd, the affidavit states.

Police believe one person involved in the fight was the intended target, but another man was seriously injured in the shooting and died at a local hospital. The victim was identified as 41-year-old Diago Franchez Jones.

In a online obituaryJones’ family wrote that he “was a man whose spirit was as warm and powerful as the Texas sun.” Jones was a member of Salem Missionary Baptist Church, a graduate of Dunbar High School, an avid Dallas Cowboys fan and a devoted father of two children, according to the obituary.

Jones leaves behind “a community that will deeply feel his absence, particularly on the Eastside where his presence was always felt,” the obituary said.

Diago Franchez Jones, 41, grew up and remained deeply rooted in East Fort Worth, where his loss is greatly felt following his death on Oct. 12, 2024, his family wrote in an obituary.

Diago Franchez Jones, 41, grew up and remained deeply rooted in East Fort Worth, where his loss is greatly felt following his death on Oct. 12, 2024, his family wrote in an obituary.


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Two other people were injured in the shooting, police said.

Detectives identified the suspect vehicle linked to the shooting and obtained surveillance video showing the driver and a female passenger inside a store. Investigators were able to identify the driver by comparing his image in the video with police reports and social media accounts, the affidavit states.

Information about the suspect car and driver was forwarded to the Fort Worth Police Operations and Surveillance Team. They learned that the individual in question was now driving a green Alfa Romero, according to the affidavit.

Police conducted a traffic stop on the Romero and arrested three people, including Evans, on unrelated charges. One of them told detectives he was driving the black Dodge Durango the night of the shooting, the affidavit states.

The driver said he was involved in the fight at Club LV and then went around and picked up several people. He told police one of his passengers got out of the vehicle and fired shots, according to the affidavit.

Evans told investigators he was at Club LV but left in a black truck. He said he was outside when the fight occurred, the affidavit states. He denied having Facebook and Instagram accounts, but a detective found a Facebook profile of Evans, which showed the 19-year-old with guns.

A second interview was conducted with the driver of the Dodge Durango. He admitted to police that a man named “Chopper” was sitting in the back seat, then he got out and started shooting. When investigators showed him a photo of Evans, he identified him as “Chopper,” the affidavit states.

Surveillance video from the La Gran Plaza area shows a person matching Evans’ description coming from the combat zone and getting into the suspect vehicle. The Durango can be seen moving in the parking lot.

At 2:13 a.m., 10 flashes, or gunshots, were visible coming from outside the Durango. The gunshots came from the area closest to the left rear seat where Evans was seated, the affidavit states.

On Thursday, November 14, Evans was incarcerated in the Tarrant County Jail with bail set at $250,000.