Four Arrested in Apartment Complex Shooting that Injured Teen
Published on March 21, 2025
By Arlington Police Department
The Arlington Police Department has made four arrests in connection to a recent shooting that injured a teenage girl.
On Monday, March 10, 2025, at approximately 2:15 a.m., officers responded to an apartment complex in the 3700 block of Trailwood Ct to investigate reports of shots fired. When they arrived on scene, they found dozens of shell casings in the parking lot and could see a bullet hole in the window of an apartment. They learned a teenage girl inside the apartment, who was asleep in her room at the time, had been struck in the arm. A family member drove the girl to the hospital before first responders arrived. She has since been treated and released.
Investigators determined two groups exchanged gunfire in the parking lot and that a stray bullet entered the girl’s room, striking her. They do not believe she or anyone else inside the apartment was targeted or involved.
Detectives initially had few leads in the case. Then, on March 12, 2025, officers were dispatched to the same apartment complex to investigate reports that an armed man had displayed a gun at a tenant. Officers located a group of possible suspects at the complex. As they approached the group, two individuals, who were identified as 23-year-old Michael Thomas and 21-year-old Dmarjae Johnson, ran from them. After a brief foot pursuit, officers caught and detained both men.
Through the course of their investigation that evening, detectives received information that Mr. Thomas and Mr. Johnson may have also been involved in the March 10 shooting.
Mr. Johnson was arrested on Evading charges.
Mr. Thomas was arrested on Evading and Deadly Conduct charges. Investigators also learned Mr. Thomas had an unrelated, active warrant for his arrest and that he had a prior felony conviction, prohibiting him from possessing a weapon. He was additionally booked into the Arlington City Jail on the warrant and one count of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.
After speaking with the suspects and reviewing additional evidence, detectives were able to connect Mr. Thomas and Mr. Johnson to the March 10 shooting. They filed an additional count of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon against both suspects while they were in custody. Mr. Thomas and Mr. Johnson have since been transferred to the Tarrant County Jail.
After further investigation, detectives identified two additional suspects involved in the March 10 incident, 18-year-old Cortez Atkinson and a juvenile male. Both young men are documented gang members – and as such, detectives obtained warrants for their arrests on one count of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity.
Members of the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force located the juvenile suspect in Arlington on March 18, 2025 and took him into custody without incident. He was transported to the Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Center. Because he is under 17-years-old, we are unable to release his name.
On March 19, 2025, Mr. Atkinson turned himself in at the Arlington City Jail. He was taken into custody without incident and booked on the warrant.
Detectives believe the two groups were in an ongoing feud and that the shooting was retaliatory in nature.
“I am extremely proud of the persistent and swift work our Violent Crime Unit and Gang Specialists did to identify these dangerous criminals and take them off our streets,” said Chief of Police Al Jones. “I want to be absolutely clear that this police department and this community will not tolerate this type of violence. When you show the kind of recklessness and disregard for human life that these individuals did, injuring an innocent teenager, the Arlington Police Department is going to come after you with every available resource and ensure you end up in jail.”