Violence struck two corners of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex Tuesday night — and a grim reminder surfaced that some cases of bloodshed from years past still haven’t been put to rest.
Fort Worth police responded to a triple shooting at approximately 8 p.m. on the 5100 block of Persimmon Court, a residential stretch off Keller Hicks Road and Park Vista Boulevard. Three people were hit. Fort Worth Fire EMS confirmed two of the victims were transported in critical condition, with a third in serious condition. Details on suspects or a motive had not been released as of late Tuesday.
A Reward That Keeps Growing
Meanwhile, federal authorities are turning up the pressure on a separate, years-old case that has haunted North Texas since the winter of 2021. The FBI has raised its reward to $70,000 for information leading to the arrest of Abel Elias Acosta — now 18 years old — wanted in connection with the murders of three teenagers in Garland.
It happened on December 26, 2021, the day after Christmas. Acosta allegedly ambushed a group of four teenagers inside a Garland convenience store, killing 14-year-old Xavier Gonzalez, 16-year-old Ivan Noyola, and 17-year-old Rafael Garcia. A fourth teen was wounded and survived. According to investigators, Acosta was only 14 years old at the time of the attack — a detail that still shocks people who hear the story for the first time.
More than four years later, he’s still out there. “The families have still not seen justice, as Abel Acosta still remains at large,” Garland Police Chief Jeff Bryan said. That quote doesn’t require much unpacking. Three families. Three dead children. And the alleged shooter has never been brought to court.
A Father Behind Bars, A Son Still Missing
There’s a particularly dark footnote to all of this. Acosta’s father, Richard Acosta, was convicted of capital murder for serving as the getaway driver that night. He’s now serving life without the possibility of parole. The elder Acosta’s fate was sealed in a courtroom. His son’s, so far, has not been.
How does a suspect wanted in a triple murder — one caught on surveillance, one whose own father was convicted in the same crime — manage to evade capture for over four years? That’s the question law enforcement is still trying to answer, and why the reward has now climbed to $70,000. Someone, somewhere, knows something.
Back in Fort Worth, investigators were still piecing together what happened on Persimmon Court as the night wore on — three more victims, three more families waiting by their phones for news that no one wants to deliver. It’s a Tuesday in April. It shouldn’t feel this familiar.
