4 Dead During Shootout In South Texas

A 1-year-old boy’s birthday party in South Texas ended tragically as a shootout erupted, leading to the death of four people and one person seriously injured.

According to reports, the shootout was as a result of an argument at the party on Saturday afternoon near Corpus Christi, South Texas. It soon escalated into a shooting that left four men dead and a fifth man wounded, authorities said Sunday.

The wounded man, 43-year-old Juan Espinoza Jr., was airlifted to a Corpus Christi hospital. and he’s expected to survive.

Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Nathan Brandley said those involved were distant relatives. Brandley identified those killed as 62-year-old Juan Espinoza Sr.; 20-year-old Juan Sandoval III; 22-year-old Jeremy Sandoval; and 25-year-old Nicky Sandoval. He said the three younger men are grandsons to Juan Espinoza Sr.

A 20-year-old man was in custody, Brandley said. The man’s 37-year-old father was also a suspect, but he had not yet been arrested, Brandley added.

Belinda Espinoza, the daughter of Juan Espinoza Sr., said her family grew up with the suspects and knew them well. She was not at the house when the shooting occurred. She said her father was a farmer and a family man.

She told CNN:

He did everything he could for us. He was happily married to his first and only love my mother, Eulalia Sandoval.

She said that her brother, Juan Espinoza Jr., “would give the shirt off his back for others and his children. He always opened his home to anyone.”