Justin Sharp was a 16-year-old Black male whose life was cut short during a violent street fight in his hometown of Waco, Texas. He was a student at Waco High School, where the school community was later offered support from crisis counselors to help them grieve his sudden death.
On the afternoon of March 28, 2023, two groups of juveniles, numbering at least 10 in total, met for a pre-arranged fight in the 3300 block of Brookview Drive, near S.J. Guthrie Park.
During the altercation, Justin was shot. Responding officers arrived around 1:30 p.m. to find him with a severe gunshot wound. They performed life-saving measures, but he was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators recovered a firearm and shell casings from the scene. At the time, Waco Police Chief Sheryl Victorian called the shooting a "cowardly act of gun violence resulting in the tragic loss of yet another teenager in our community." On April 18, 2023, the U.S. Marshal’s Lone Star Fugitive Task Force arrested a 15-year-old male in connection with Justin's death. The teen, whose name was not released because he was a juvenile, was initially charged with murder.
As the investigation progressed, video evidence of the fight emerged that changed the course of the case. According to Assistant District Attorney John Wiersgalla, the video "conclusively showed that the shooting was legally justified in defense of another person." The footage revealed that during the fight, Justin had aimed a gun at another boy’s head. The 15-year-old suspect then drew his own weapon and shot Justin to protect his friend.
Based on this evidence, prosecutors reduced the murder charge against the teen to rioting, a second-degree felony. The district attorney's office and police determined that while the shooting itself was justified, the events that led to it constituted the crime of riot, and all surviving participants were charged accordingly. In August 2023, the 15-year-old pleaded true to delinquent conduct/rioting. Judge Alan Bennett adjudicated him guilty and sentenced him to two years of probation. The judge also ordered him into the county’s juvenile intensive supervision program and to complete psychological counseling and a gang intervention program.
