FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF News ) – As the Crowley ISD community is mourning the tragic death of a JROTC instructor, Fort Worth police released new details about what led up to 54-year-old Master Sergeant Gene Bass’ murder.
According to an arrest affidavit, Gene Bass was fatally shot by his 28-year-old son Xavier Bass in outside his home in the 4400 block of Chesapeake Bay Drive just west of South Hulen Street Friday around 2:25 p.m.
Witnesses told investigators that they had been working on some flowers in Gene Bass’ front yard, when a man they didn’t know pulled up near their landscaping truck in a black Ford Mustang.
The man got out of the car and walked toward Gene while holding a small, black handgun that he “threw up in the air and caught twice,” according to the affidavit.
Gene walked toward the gunman and said something to the effect of “Boy, stop playing with that gun before you shoot someone,” the affidavit states.
The witnesses told police that statement made them believe the two knew each other and that’s when the suspect started shooting Gene Bass.
Surveillance video shows the dust falling up from the ground, around the victim as if he is being shot at, according to the affidavit. The gunman pursued Gene Bates while pointing the pistol at home as he crawled under the landscaper’s trailer.
A few minutes later, the suspect ran back to his car and drove away. After the shooting, several people called 911.
Officers found Bass suffering from several gunshot wounds to his upper body, according to police. Despite first responders attempting life-saving measures, Bass died at the scene.
Investigators managed to identify Xavier Bass as the suspect through an emergency contact on Gene Bass’ driver’s license, social media and through the victim’s ex-wife and current girlfriend.
The affidavit said days before the murder, Xavier spoke with his girlfriend about making a trip to North Texas to see his father and that she would “find out why when she saw it on the news.” He also told his girlfriend that he “felt his dad could have made things better” in regards to his upbringing, the affidavit states.
Investigators said Xavier also told his girlfriend he was traveling to DFW to see his mother, sell his Mustang and check himself into a mental health facility.
Fort Worth PD said Xavier Bass was arrested by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office in Valdosta, Georgia on Saturday.
In a statement sent to district families, officials said bass was an “outstanding educator and colleague” who “touched the lives for countless students and staff.”
The district said families can request counseling for grieving students.
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