Deron Edward Royster Jr., 31, was found with a severe injury to his left eye during a welfare check in the 1400 block of New Haven Road on May 12, 2024. He was transported to United Regional Hospital and later to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, where exams showed a projectile lodged in his brain. Royster died of his injuries on May 14, 2024.

According to investigators, Royster had been at his sister’s home earlier but was asked to leave after aggressive behavior possibly tied to substance use. Witnesses placed him shortly before the shooting at Parkdale and New Haven, engaged in a heated exchange with a person driving a black vehicle. That person was later identified as 33-year-old Darren Jerome King, who witnesses say shot Royster in the face with a pellet rifle and then fled.

King was arrested May 23, 2024, after a brief foot pursuit and found hiding in a chicken coop in the Sunnyside neighborhood. He was charged with murder and held on $750,000 bond; his record includes prior arrests for aggravated robbery, assault, parole violations, and evading arrest. Wichita Falls Crime Stoppers offered a reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.

Does anyone have information about Royster’s movements that night or saw the confrontation at Parkdale and New Haven?