SPRING, Texas – An argument over shoes led to the shooting death of a 21-year-old man in Spring, police said.
According to police, a group of young men were playing basketball just before 7 p.m. Monday in the 2400 block of Autumn Springs Lane when a car pulled up and a man got out.
The suspected gunman, Ja’Corrie Rogers, 20, and the 21-year-old victim, Darius Flournoy, got into an argument, police said. Rogers pulled out a gun and started shooting. He then got back into the vehicle and drove away.
Rogers was taken into custody before 4:30 p.m.Tuesday, according to police. He was arrested by the Port Arthur authorities and charged with murder. Rogers is being held at the Jefferson County jail on a $50,000 bond.
Witnesses said they initially thought the altercation was a joke.
“They thought it (the gun) was a toy. They didn’t think it was real and the other boy started laughing and he walked away. He turned his back and that’s when the boy shot him," a neighbor said.
Flournoy was shot multiple times, police said. He was taken to Houston Northwest Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
“I’m just waiting on my baby to walk around the corner. I’m just waiting for him to come home. This is unreal to me,” said Flournoy’s mother Nicole Sanders. “Everybody loved Darius. It’s no reason why it had to come to this.”
She said she is still in shock over the death of her son and disappointed in the way police are handling the case.
Darius Flournoy's mother can't believe her son is gone, especially because investigators say it was over tennis shoes. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/E77VfTDU9R
— KPRC Cathy Hernandez (@KPRC2Cathy) January 10, 2017
Sanders had one question for Rogers.
“Why? Over something so senseless. You hurt so many people, so many people miss my baby already,” she said.