Wichita Falls police made an arrest Sunday in connection to the murder of Lauren Landavazo and shooting of Makayla Smith on Friday.

Kody Austin Lott, 20, was charged with murder and aggravated assault Sunday evening after being arrested for possession of a prohibited weapon Sunday afternoon in a shopping center in the 4600 block of Southwest Parkway. WFPD Chief Manuel Borrego said Lott was taken into to the police department and questioned by detectives where he, 'gave a full confession to the shooting and to the murder and aggravated assault.'

“This affected our whole community, so it was with much gratitude that our citizens got involved with us,” Borrego said. “Also, I have to give a lot of credit to the long hours put in by our detectives. We weren’t going to end until we got this thing solved.”

Police apprehended Lott after receiving a tip around 1:22 p.m. about a suspicious person and a vehicle matching descriptions detectives released as possibly related to Friday's shooting at the Fountaingate Apartments in the 5200 block of Tower Drive.

Officers located Lott as he was trying to leave the area, and Borrego said he was stopped and detained.

Around 7:45 p.m., detectives arrived back on scene and SWAT executed a search warrant on an apartment in the 5200 block of Tower Drive.

Borrego said detectives and ID technicians would be on the scene “long into the night” collecting evidence. It was unclear if a weapon had been recovered as of the briefing.

Lott was booked into the Wichita County Jail. His total bail was expected to be set at $4 million, Borrego said.

Landavazo and Smith were shot in an alleyway between the 5200 blocks of Kingston and Tower drives around 3:30 p.m. Friday while walking home from McNiel Middle School.

Police did not immediately release the names of conditions of the girls, but Wichita Falls Independent School District Superintendent Michael Kuhrt later confirmed the two had been shot, were students of McNiel Middle School and one had died.

WFPD identified Landavazo and Smith as the victims at 11:32 p.m. that evening, and they confirmed Landavazo's death. They said Smith was in stable condition in a news release.

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Saturday, friends and family of the Landavazo and Smith made a memorial near the location of the shooting, and a Sam's Club, located at 3801 Kell East Boulevard, held a cookout to benefit Landavazo's family. Manager Emmanuel Carrillo said the business plans to host another cookout Sept. 10 to benefit Smith's family.

A vigil was held for the girls Sunday evening.

After what Borrego described as a “long couple of days” for both officers and the community, he hopes the arrest will allow the families and community to be comforted.

“We were hoping we could make this arrest, so the city could breathe and feel safe when our kids go back to school on Tuesday,” Borrego said. “... I’m hoping this brings a little bit of justice to Lauren and Makayla — that we could at least get the arrest made and let this thing run through the justice system.”

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