The victims, ages 15 to 17, were in a vehicle pursued after police began investigating a shooting early Sunday.
TYLER, TX — Four teenagers were killed Sunday after a shooting investigation in Tyler led to a high-speed police pursuit that ended in a crash on Highway 31 East, authorities said.
The teenagers ranged in age from 15 to 17, Smith County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Derrick Choice confirmed Monday. Their names had not been released. Choice said three of the teenagers were born in 2009 and one was born in 2011. The fatal crash followed a series of events that began with reports of gunfire in Tyler and included two other people being treated for gunshot wounds at a local hospital.
Tyler police said officers were sent to the 1500 block of Lake Placid Road early Sunday after receiving a report of gunshots. The caller also provided officers with a description of a vehicle believed to be connected to the shooting. At about 4 a.m., police received a report from a local hospital that two people were being treated for gunshot wounds connected to the incident, according to the department.
As officers investigated, they located a vehicle matching the description provided after the shooting report. Police said officers attempted to make contact with the vehicle, but it drove away. Officers then began a pursuit through Tyler that continued east on Highway 31 at a high rate of speed.
The Texas Department of Public Safety joined the pursuit after it moved outside the Tyler city limits, authorities said. A DPS trooper then used a precision immobilization technique, commonly known as a PIT maneuver, to end the pursuit. Authorities have not released a detailed account of the decision to use the maneuver or the circumstances immediately preceding the crash.
The crash occurred near County Road 211 at about 5:36 a.m., according to information provided by a Smith County Emergency Services District 2 spokesperson. Three occupants of the vehicle died at the scene, according to the Tyler Police Department. A fourth occupant was taken to a hospital and later died.
Choice confirmed Monday that all four people killed were teenagers. He said their names could not yet be released on the advice of attorneys. Authorities initially withheld the identities while relatives were being notified. Officials had not publicly identified the two people treated for gunshot wounds or provided additional information about their conditions in the reports available Monday.
The sequence of events remained under investigation, including the original shooting and the pursuit that followed. Police described the vehicle that fled as the suspect vehicle in their account, but authorities had not publicly detailed what evidence connected each of its occupants to the reported gunfire. No motive for the shooting had been announced, and officials had not released information about possible criminal charges.
Highway 31 East was closed for several hours while law enforcement officers and emergency crews worked at the crash scene. Authorities have not announced when additional investigative findings or the teenagers’ identities will be released.
Author note: Last updated Sept. 29, 2026.