Caylen Fritz, 22, was killed during a late-night outbreak of gunfire in Deep Ellum’s Canton Street parking lot in the early hours of July 5, 2025. Officers were flagged down around 2:20–2:25 a.m. as panicked crowds fled; Fritz was found struck by multiple rounds and died after being taken from the 2600 block of Canton Street to a hospital. The scene was chaotic, with numerous victims, many shell casings and discarded weapons.

Body-camera footage released days later shows officers arriving to find 19-year-old Tevin Valentine standing over Fritz holding a handgun; police say Valentine ran and pointed the weapon at an officer, who fired one rifle shot that wounded him. Detectives described the violence as stemming from simmering altercations between two groups that escalated after bars closed; multiple people were injured and four victims were transported by Dallas Fire-Rescue. On July 9, 2025, the Dallas Police Fugitive Unit arrested 19-year-old Gael Aguilar on a murder charge in connection with Fritz’s killing as investigators worked to sort who fired which shots and build a timeline.

If anyone was in Deep Ellum that night and saw how the clash between the groups began or who fired first, please share what was seen with investigators.