Wichita Falls police: Death now deemed murder

Wichita Falls police say a shooting death they initially considered accidental is now being investigated as a murder.

According to initial press releases from WFPD, officers had gone to a home in the 100 block of Patterson Street late that night for a welfare check and found Mitchell dead in front of the home.

A male witness who was leaving the home with Patterson told police they were walking toward a vehicle in the driveway when he heard a gunshot and turned to see the victim fall to the ground.

The witness told police Mitchell had been carrying an AK-47 rifle wrapped up in clothing and cradled in his arms in addition to other items in his hands.

Wichita Falls police spokesman Sgt. Charlie Eipper said Monday no details were publicly available to indicate why the incident was now considered a murder, but he urged anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers of Wichita Falls at 940-322-9888.

With Mitchell's death is now listed as a murder, Wichita Falls has seen six murders during 2024. Police consider the shooting deaths of two men at an apartment complex in January to be justifiable homicides.