A fatal road-rage shooting on a Fort Worth interstate has drawn renewed attention after an arrest affidavit revealed new details about what investigators say happened before a woman was sH๏τ while driving to work.

Patrick Lawrence, 37, was arrested by Fort Worth police on August 13 and charged with murder in connection with the death of LaTaivia Davis, an Everman Independent School District teacher’s aide. The shooting happened shortly before 6:40 a.m. on eastbound Interstate 20 near Granbury Road and the Hulen Mall area, where witnesses reported an apparent confrontation between two drivers.

According to the arrest affidavit reported by FOX 4, investigators believe Lawrence was driving a blue Volkswagen while Davis was behind the wheel of a red vehicle. Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang and seeing the blue vehicle leave the highway shortly afterward. Davis’s vehicle was found with a bullet hole in the pᴀssenger-side window, and she had suffered a gunsH๏τ wound to her upper forearm. She was pronounced ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at the scene despite emergency efforts.

The affidavit provides Lawrence’s account of the moments leading up to the shooting. According to investigators, Lawrence told police he had been leaving work and was attempting to enter eastbound I-20 after crossing several lanes near South Hulen Street. He said Davis’s red sedan came up behind him and that he believed the vehicle was following too closely before it moved across lanes.

Lawrence reportedly told officers that he could not see who was inside the red vehicle because its windows were tinted. As the vehicle pᴀssed, he said he fired a single sH๏τ toward it. He then exited the interstate and continued driving to his workplace rather than remaining at the scene.

Investigators later connected Lawrence to the shooting through video evidence. A witness’s vehicle had captured part of the incident on a dashboard camera, allowing police to identify the blue Volkswagen involved. Officers eventually located Lawrence at his workplace in Justin, where he was detained as he was getting into his vehicle during his lunch break. Police reported finding a handgun in the driver’s-side door area.

Evidence recovered from the highway also became an important part of the investigation. Police cadets searched the interstate and located a single shell casing near Granbury Road. According to the affidavit, the firearm recovered from Lawrence’s vehicle was consistent with the casing found at the shooting scene. Lawrence also reportedly told investigators that the weapon remained inside his vehicle after the shooting.

The initial police response caused significant disruption along I-20. Eastbound lanes near the Granbury Road interchange and Hulen Mall were closed for much of the morning while officers investigated the shooting and searched the roadway for evidence. Traffic in the area was heavily affected before the interstate was eventually reopened.

For Davis’s family, the case has brought an especially painful loss. Davis worked as a teacher’s aide at E. Ray Elementary School in the Everman ISD. The school district said she was a valued member of its staff and offered counseling and other support to students and employees following her death.

Later in August, the school community gathered to remember Davis. At E. Ray Elementary, students, teachers and community members released balloons in her memory. School officials described her as someone who cared deeply about students and was looking forward to returning to the classroom. Davis was also an Everman graduate and had returned to work in the school district where she had grown up.

The investigation has also brought attention to the dangers of confrontations between drivers. Fort Worth police initially described the incident as an apparent road-rage encounter, but the exact sequence of events and circumstances leading to the shooting remain matters for the criminal case. The arrest affidavit contains Lawrence’s account, while investigators have also relied on witness statements, video footage and physical evidence recovered from the scene.

Records cited by FOX 4 also show that Lawrence had previously faced misdemeanor drug and ᴀssault charges in Tarrant County. Those earlier cases are separate from the current murder charge and do not establish guilt in the Davis shooting.

Lawrence remained in the Tarrant County Jail following his arrest, with court proceedings scheduled after the charge was filed. The murder allegation against him has not been adjudicated, and the case will proceed through the court system as prosecutors and defense attorneys examine the evidence.

The tragedy has left the Everman school community mourning an educator whose day began like any other commute to work but ended with a fatal confrontation on one of North Texas’s busiest highways. As investigators continue reviewing the evidence, the case serves as another stark example of how quickly an argument or confrontation on the road can escalate into a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly incident.

Sources: FOX 4, NBC 5.