More details would be useful, but it appears to be a classic in our area.
Police release murdered teen’s name
WESLACO – Police are still searching for the person responsible for shooting and killing 14-year-old Roberto Castro Jr. Saturday evening at a gas station.
The boy and his father, Robert Castro Sr., had walked up to a gray 1993 Dodge Quad Cab pickup truck at the Murphy USA gas pumps at 1310 N. Texas Blvd. that they believed could have been their recently stolen truck. The truck had Minnesota license plates containing the letters “APG.”
One shot was fired through the passenger window hitting Castro Jr. in the chest. He later died at Knapp Medical Center. The truck immediately left and was last seen heading west on the frontage road toward Donna, according to police. A witness later said the vehicle had turned around and was heading to Mercedes.
Police said they have no descriptions of the suspects.
Weslaco Police Department spokesman David Molina said he did not know where Castro Jr. went to school.
Weslaco School District Superintendent said he had not talked to police as of late Sunday afternoon and he could not confirm if Castro Jr. was one of his students until Monday morning.
Today is the first day of school for Weslaco students. Rivera said if Castro Jr. did attend the area’s schools, counseling will be provided.
I can fill in some of the blanks without impugning the victim. First it is highly likely the vehicle in question had not been reported stolen. Second it is highly likely that the victim was between schools because the family worked some part of the year out of state. Third the father exhibited a tremendous amount of overconfidence in his attempt to recover what may have been his vehicle. The possibility that the shooting went down in a different manner than the account given to police is very high. That someone involved in this has some part in an illegal activity is almost certain. Too bad the most innocent had to pay with his life.
There are some bits of wisdom that the CHL holder can gain from incidents such as these. The one that stands out the most to me is “let the police do their job.” If the victim or his father had called the police and let them investigate exactly what was going on, a family would not be planning a funeral right now. If the situation looks to you like it needs the police, then call the police. You as a CHL holder are not law enforcement. You are allowed one mistake….only one.
