On January 20, 2023, 16-year-old Zechariah Treviño was fatally shot outside a Whataburger restaurant on West Berry Street in Fort Worth, Texas. The incident occurred shortly after 4 p.m., near R.L. Paschal High School, where Treviño was a student. His 17-year-old cousin, Mia Dominguez, was also critically injured in the shooting, sustaining gunshot wounds to her leg and torso.
The confrontation reportedly stemmed from a dispute over social media comments made by Dominguez.
Surveillance footage showed Treviño and his cousin standing outside the restaurant when a white Honda arrived, and two armed individuals exited the vehicle. A verbal altercation ensued, during which one assailant, identified as 17-year-old Daniel Reed, threatened Dominguez with a pistol before shooting her in the stomach. The second assailant, 17-year-old Isaiah Nunez, then fired multiple shots at Treviño, striking him eight to ten times, and also shot Dominguez again as she lay on the ground.
In the days following the incident, Fort Worth police arrested Reed, Nunez, and a 16-year-old juvenile who served as the getaway driver. All three were charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Investigations revealed that none of the suspects were current students at Paschal High School, though Nunez was identified as a former student.
Subsequent legal proceedings led to guilty pleas from the accused. In February 2024, Nunez was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder of Treviño and received an additional 15-year sentence for the aggravated assault of Dominguez. In March 2024, Reed pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. The juvenile involved also accepted a plea deal, though specific details were not disclosed due to his age.
The tragic death of Zechariah Treviño, who was expecting a child with his girlfriend at the time, prompted an outpouring of grief and calls for action against youth violence within the Fort Worth community. Vigils were held in his memory, and his mother publicly forgave the individuals responsible for her son's death, emphasizing the need for forgiveness and healing.
