Royce Witchet was a 15-year-old male student at Westfield High School in Spring, Texas. In the days after his death, dozens of friends and family members gathered to mourn him at a vigil outside the school. They chanted "Justice for Roy!" and "Forever 15!" as they released balloons in his memory at the approximate time he had been pronounced dead.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 22, 2026, Royce was walking on a sidewalk near his school.
The shooting happened between 2:40 and 3:00 p.m., shortly after classes were dismissed for the day. He was on Ella Boulevard, in an area between the high school and a Spring ISD administration building. According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, some type of incident occurred between Royce and another teenager, which led to the shooting. The suspect fled the scene on foot.
Royce was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. His family later stated that he had been shot multiple times in the back. He did not survive his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital. At his memorial, family members called for stronger protections for children and spoke out against the repeated loss of young lives. "Too many kids are dying in school, where we send our kids off to be safe, and they are coming back dead," one relative said. "I don't want nobody else to be standing in a situation like me and my family."
The day after the shooting, authorities arrested a suspect. The individual taken into custody was a 14-year-old boy who was also believed to be a student in the Spring Independent School District. Due to his age, his name was not publicly released. He was subsequently charged with murder in Royce Witchet's death. As of September 2026, the case was proceeding through the justice system.
