Desmond McKay, 19, a male from Arlington, Texas, who was Black/African American, spent the evening of June 2, 2025 with someone he knew from welding school. Near 10:56 p.m., he and that acquaintance arrived at an apartment complex in the 2700 block of Castle Gardens Drive to pick up another friend. In the parking lot, Desmond McKay, 19, stepped out of his own 2016 Chrysler 200 while the other man tried to drive off; as Desmond McKay, 19, ran back and struggled at the driver’s door, multiple
shots were fired. Officers found Desmond McKay, 19, unresponsive with several gunshot wounds; he was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead. The shooter fled in Desmond McKay’s, 19, car, which was recovered the next morning in Dallas, across the street from the acquaintance’s home.
In the first days after the killing, detectives canvassed witnesses and friends and learned that Desmond McKay, 19, had told multiple people he was meeting a friend from welding school that night. As the timeline coalesced, detectives concluded that Desmond McKay, 19, and the acquaintance had driven to the Castle Gardens address together, intending to pick up a third person, but the shooting unfolded before they reached the apartment. Surveillance leads and the recovery of the Chrysler 200 helped fix the path of flight and focus the investigation.
By June 29, the investigation converged on 24-year-old Jahlen Owen. That afternoon, Owen walked into the Ott Cribbs Public Safety Center in Arlington and asked to speak with detectives about a murder case. According to police, he waived his rights and confessed, providing details that matched the evidence; detectives obtained a warrant and arrested him on a charge of capital murder. He was booked into the Arlington City Jail and transferred to the Tarrant County Jail.
The death of Desmond McKay, 19, was formally recorded on June 2, 2025, with funeral arrangements announced by his family in Fort Worth. There have been no other arrests announced in the case, and authorities have not released a motive for the shooting attributed to Owen.
