Texas kid, 12, is charged with murder after shooting a Sonic staff member with an AR-15 while they were arguing with another man in the parking lot
- Police found 32-year-old Matthew Davis lying on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds when they arrived at the Sonic Drive-In around 10 p.m. Saturday
- Davis had an argument with Angel Gomez, 20, the 12-year-old’s driver, police say
- The child grabbed an AR-15 from the car and shot the victim, investigators said
A 12-year-old Texas boy has been charged with murder after shooting a Sonic employee with an assault rifle.
Police found 32-year-old Matthew Davis lying on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds when they arrived at the Sonic Drive-In in Keene, 50 miles southwest of Dallas, around 10 p.m. Saturday. He was rushed to hospital where he later died.
Detectives believe Angel Gomez, 20, was the driver of the 12-year-old boy and other passengers. Loud and disorderly, he was accosted by Davis after urinating in the parking lot, police said.
During the heated conversation, the child grabbed the AR-15 rifle from the car and fired six shots at Davis, authorities said.
The boy and Gomez fled. Gomez later returned to the Sonic and was arrested. The child was held at a home in Rio Vista, about 14 miles south of Keene, where several guns were seized, according to police.
Matthew Davis (pictured), who leaves behind a 10-year-old son, had recently moved to Keene and only started working at the Sonic two weeks ago
Detectives believe Angel Gomez, 20, was the driver of the 12-year-old boy and other passengers. Loud and disorderly, he was accosted by Davis after urinating in the parking lot, police said
The shooting took place Saturday night at the Sonic Drive-In in the 300 block of S. Old Betsy, Keene, Texas
Gomez and the boy – whose name has not been released by police – have been charged with murder.
Davis, who leaves behind a 10-year-old son, had recently moved to Keene and only started working at the Sonic two weeks ago.
His mother works to bury him in Louisiana, where he is from.
Dylan Elliott, a local resident, said she heard gunshots and then an air ambulance.
‘I was outside. My fiancé ran into the house and I heard several gunshots,” Elliott said Fox.
‘You see [helicopters] occasionally, but you never see them flying that low and at least that close to home.’
She added, “A 12-year-old has access to a gun these days and kills someone. Especially breaks my heart.’
Davis in a photo posted to a fundraising page set up to help his family
The restaurant remained closed on Monday because residents came to lay flowers.
Jane Baggett told NBC“I wish we could do more, but if they could see that support and love now, and maybe, even if we didn’t know him, [know] his life was important to many of us.’
A Sonic spokesperson said, “We are saddened to hear of the tragedy involving a franchise team member in Keene, TX. The franchisee is cooperating fully with local authorities in their investigation.”