Police seek suspects in Amarillo apartment shooting that killed two teens
Two teenagers were killed and 10 people wounded as police said two suspects fired into a party at a west Amarillo apartment complex, then fled into the night.
Police in Amarillo are asking residents to check doorbell and security cameras after two suspects opened fire at a party at the Westminster Apartments, killing two teenagers, ages 16 and 17, and wounding 10 other people. The shooting happened about 2 a.m. Saturday on South Coulter Street, near Interstate 40 and about 6 miles west of downtown Amarillo.
Investigators have not released a motive, but Chief Thomas Hover said they believe the suspects had an affiliation with the targeted location and were known to one of the people at the party. Police released surveillance video that showed two suspects firing outside an apartment, followed by yelling, screaming and more gunfire. That footage, along with video from nearby homes and businesses, is now central to the hunt for answers.
Police said the gathering had started at another location and later moved to the apartment complex after several people were asked to leave the first site. That shift, investigators believe, may be one reason the case is difficult to untangle. Party shootings can leave behind scattered witnesses, conflicting accounts and a fast-moving scene, and police are still trying to sort out who was present, who left, and who may have seen the suspects arrive or run.
Investigators recovered a Glock 9mm handgun on a nearby landing, but they believe multiple weapons were used because cartridge casings were found in an alley near the complex. That suggests more than one gunman may have been involved, or at least that more than one weapon was fired during the chaos. Police have said they believe there were two suspects.
The violence has added to alarm in a city of about 200,000 people that has already been rattled by earlier bloodshed. Amarillo police said they had increased patrol staffing after separate shootings killed six people on March 22, 2026. The city recorded 16 homicides in 2025 and has had 10 so far in 2026, including the two teenagers killed in Saturday’s shooting.
Phillip Thrasher, a neighbor, told KTVT-TV that he looked outside and saw chaos, with kids running everywhere and parents rushing to help. For investigators, the next break may come from someone willing to share what they saw, or from a camera that caught the moment the gunfire began.
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