A Fort Worth rapper’s dream ended in gunfire, but his father says the story isn’t over.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth police shot and killed a 25-year-old man friends and family are identifying as Emmitt Elijah Mayo, a local rap artist, early Saturday morning after he reportedly pointed a gun at them.
Hours later, officers killed a second man in a separate confrontation on Interstate 820.
The first shooting occurred at about 12:05 a.m. Saturday in the 4200 block of Wiman Drive, where officers were dispatched to multiple calls and texts reporting gunfire, according to police. When officers arrived, they heard additional shots and saw a man, Mayo, carrying a handgun.
“As officers were moving to the area where the shots were being fired, they encountered an individual that was armed with a handgun,” Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia said.
Officers ordered Mayo to drop the weapon. According to police, he refused and, at one point, pointed the gun at officers. After being shot by police, Mayo was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured.
Emmitt Mayo, Mayo’s father, said his son had grown up on the streets of East Fort Worth and had dreams of making it as a recording artist under the name 88dub.
“It takes a lot to get out of this neighborhood, and he was on his way out,” the elder Mayo said.
The father said his son had been scheduled to perform at a house party near Wiman Drive that night. Friend Billy Kirven, who said he was present during the shooting, said the confrontation stemmed from a dispute over money and that Mayo had returned fire before fleeing on foot — running into responding officers.
Kirven said he did not hear officers issue any commands before the shooting.
“I ain’t slept since I seen it,” he said.
Mayo’s father questioned the department’s account of events, while acknowledging his son had a gun.
“My son was in the streets. OK. But my son is never going to shoot a cop. Never going to draw down on a cop,” the father said.
He also questioned whether officers exhausted de-escalation options before opening fire.
A Fort Worth Police Department spokesperson said the department is investigating what happened. Detectives from the Major Case unit were called to the scene.
Neighbor Carolyn Green said she had been at home nearby during the shooting, which she said followed a party on an adjacent street.
“I heard this loud boom like it was in my house,” Green said.
She said she looked outside and saw a man lying in her front yard.
“He was laying there, the ambulance came out and I said that man is dead,” she said. “It was just blood everywhere.”
Green said at least one bullet also struck her home during the shooting.
“I just hate the idea that it’s so much stuff going on out here in our neighborhood,” she said.
Hours later, at about 4:15 a.m., officers still working the Wiman Drive scene saw a white SUV pass by multiple times at high speed. Police said the driver appeared to be attempting to strike officers standing near their patrol cars with the vehicle.
Police tried to stop the SUV, but the driver reportedly fled, officials say. A chase ensued and lasted about 15 minutes before officers ended the pursuit using a PIT maneuver on Interstate 820 near the East Lancaster exit, according to information released by the Fort Worth Police Department.
Officers approached the stopped vehicle with guns drawn and gave multiple verbal commands, police said. The driver reportedly didn’t comply and grabbed an officer’s firearm, according to police. Multiple officers then fired, striking the man. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
One officer was injured during the second incident and was taken to a hospital, though police said at the time it was unclear how the officer was hurt.