Evidence from the scene and follow-up work led them to classify the shooting as a deliberate ambush, investigators said.
HALTOM CITY, Texas — What began publicly as a possible murder-suicide near a school stadium turned, in police briefings, into a more specific conclusion: detectives say John Mbuyi planned the killing of Raissa Thatukila and their young daughter before anyone arrived in the parking lot.
The shift in language matters because it shows how the investigation developed. On March 27, officers responding to reports of gunfire in the 6100 block of East Belknap Street found three people shot near Birdville ISD Stadium. Initial police comments stressed that the event appeared isolated and tied to a domestic dispute. By March 30, after detectives reviewed evidence, interviewed people and reconstructed the sequence, the department said the shooting was “premeditated and targeted.” Police identified the dead as Mbuyi, 30, Thatukila, 33, and Nathy Mbuyi, 6. The revised account did more than name the dead. It provided the central claim now shaping all later coverage: investigators believe Mbuyi used a promise of money to draw the mother and child into a place where he had already decided to attack.
That allegation of planning sits at the center of the case. Police said Mbuyi lured Thatukila and Nathy to the lot under false pretenses, then carried out “an ambush he had carefully planned in advance.” They also said the adults were in an ongoing custody dispute and that Mbuyi held significant grievances toward Thatukila. In public records terms, that is still a summary rather than a full evidentiary file. The city has not released the texts, calls, witness interviews or court documents that might show how detectives reached each part of that conclusion. But the statement established a working theory with three parts: the meeting was arranged, the motive was personal and the violence was intentional before the parties arrived. That theory is now the clearest official explanation of why the shooting happened.
The known timeline remains stark. Officers were dispatched just before 4:30 p.m. Friday after reports of a shooting at the stadium parking lot. At the scene, police found two female victims inside a vehicle and the suspected shooter outside it. One of the females died there. Another was taken to a hospital and later died. Mbuyi also died after the shooting. News footage from the area showed a white car, a U-Haul van and a large police response surrounding the scene. Sgt. Rick Alexander told reporters on the day of the shooting that the people involved knew one another and likely had a family relationship. Even before names were released, that statement suggested investigators were looking at a contained family case rather than a threat tied to the nearby schools or a random act against strangers.
Another element in the police narrative is Mbuyi’s emotional state. Detectives said he had recently been grieving the death of his father and had expressed concerning thoughts related to death. That information was included with the update that labeled the shooting deliberate, suggesting police saw it as part of the case background rather than a stand-alone explanation. Still, officials did not say when those thoughts were expressed, to whom they were expressed or whether any report about them had reached law enforcement before March 27. That restraint leaves important gaps. It is not yet clear whether relatives, friends or court personnel noticed signs of escalating danger, or whether the evidence of planning only became obvious after the shooting. Police have also not publicly said what weapon was used or whether it was lawfully possessed.
The deaths also rippled through Birdville ISD because Nathy was a kindergartner at Cheney Hills Elementary. District officials said they were heartbroken and were working with police. They made counselors available for students and staff and canceled a Saturday school session at the elementary campus. The district also said there were no activities at the stadium when the shooting happened, underscoring that the site was close to schools but not crowded for an event at that moment. That detail helped separate the investigation from fears of a broader attack on students, even as the case remained deeply tied to a school community through the loss of one child.
What comes next is administrative rather than adversarial. With Mbuyi dead, prosecutors are not preparing a murder case against a living defendant. Instead, the likely next steps are the completion of the police case file, any final rulings from the medical examiner and decisions about what records can be released later. The public may eventually learn more through open-records requests or court files tied to the custody dispute, if such records exist and are not sealed. For now, though, the city has drawn a line around the case: officials say the broad outline is settled, but many of the private details will remain undisclosed while the people closest to the victims grieve.
The investigation’s key conclusion has not changed: police say the shooting was planned, targeted and rooted in a custody conflict. The next benchmark is whether the department publishes any fuller closing summary beyond the brief public updates already released.
Author note: Last updated April 20, 2026.