A 32-year-old father was shot and killed in Fort Worth. A country singer claims self-defense; however, police said there was no prior interaction.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Detectives are investigating after a 32-year-old Fort Worth man was fatally shot Monday afternoon. It happened at 2:55 p.m. near the intersection of East Berry Street and Edgewood Terrace in Fort Worth, according to Fort Worth Police.
Cody Davontae Scott was found shot in the driver’s seat of his car. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries, police said.
Fort Worth police quickly arrested Christopher Jerome Blanton Jr., a local country music artist, who told investigators he acted in self-defense.
Blanton told detectives he believed Scott was following him, according to an arrest affidavit. Blanton said he saw Scott at the Murphy Express Gas Station before the shooting. The victim’s car left the gas station before Blanton, according to documents. They ended up next to each other a mile down the road.
Blanton fired at least two shots from his vehicle into Scott’s vehicle, according to the arrest affidavit. Scott crashed after the shooting.
A person inside Blanton’s car told police he could not see the occupants in Scott’s vehicle and did not see Scott with a weapon before Blanton fired, the affidavit states.
“He said this is the best time of my life, my first child,” said Destiny Scott, the victim’s sister, describing her brother’s excitement about fatherhood. Scott was a new father. His baby girl is just six months old.
“I believe I went into shock. I wasn’t even sure if I heard it right,” Destiny Scott said, recounting the moment she received the call about her brother’s death.
Anthony Harris, a community activist who lives across the street from where the shooting occurred, said the incident deeply affected him. Harris works to prevent violence in the community and describes feeling heartbroken by the senseless nature of the crime.
“Some people can’t see past right now. They don’t see their future,” Harris said.
The shooting has left Scott’s family devastated, as he was making plans for his future.
“She is our gift that he left behind,” Destiny Scott said of her brother’s infant daughter, Chloe.
Blanton now faces potential murder charges as the investigation continues. Blanton recently posted a $30,000 bond for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Scott’s family said they are waiting for more details about what led to the fatal encounter.
Scott’s sister, Destiny, said the family believes there must be more to the story than what has been revealed so far. She is now questioning the intentions of two people who were with Scott that day, who ran from the car after the shooting, leaving him to die alone.
The case remains under investigation.