A teenager in Texas was shot dead trying to save his younger sister who was being held at gunpoint, his family said.
Police responded to the 100 block of Dusky Thrush Drive in Kyle, a city in central Texas, after reports of a shooting at around 2 a.m. on Saturday.
Officers found the body of 19-year-old Christopher Trevino at the scene. The suspect reportedly fled before police arrived.
Trevino’s family told Fox 7 he was shot while trying to protect his 15-year-old sister from a teenage boy who was pointing a gun at her.
The sister told the station that she had made plans over Snapchat to sell something to a schoolmate, who is also 15.
When the teenager arrived to make the purchase, she walked into the street to meet him. However, she said, he then pulled out a gun and pointed it at her.
Trevino had been returning home at the time and saw the encounter. When he ran across the street to help his sister, the teenager fatally shot him, his family said.
His mother Ivory Trevino told Fox 7 that his sister “blames herself” for his death.
Christopher Trevino, who was studying business at Texas A&M University San Antonio, had been living at home and learning online due to the coronavirus pandemic. He also worked at Home Depot.
Trevino’s family described him as intelligent and someone who was always looking to help others.
He was “a good kid” with plans for the future, his mother said, and had a smile that “lit up the room.”
“He had plans, he had goals, he was in college,” his sister added.
The Kyle Police Department said the homicide was drug-related, according to the Daily Record.
Police arrested the alleged shooter—a 15-year-old from Kyle—at an apartment complex.
The teenager was taken to the Jays County Juvenile Detention Center and is facing multiple charges including murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence.
The Kyle Police Department has been contacted for additional comment.
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