Dallas police are asking for the public's help with information that leads to an arrest in the death of a teen found in an Oak Cliff alley Sunday morning.
Homicide detectives were called to the 2800 block of West Brooklyn Avenue at 7:30 a.m. where a jogger found the body of a teenage boy, identified by police on Monday as 15-year-old Joe Martinez.[[310519451, L]]
Investigators said Martinez, a student at Raul Quintanilla Senior Middle School, appears to have died from a gunshot wound.
Police have revealed no further information on Martinez's cause of death or the investigation into the homicide.
On Monday, family and friends gathered in the alley where the young man's body was found.
"He was a very outgoing kid," said family friend, Martha Rodriguez. "He had a big heart. He has two younger brothers. What are they going to do now? He was their role model. They looked up to him."
Rodriguez said she does not know why someone would hurt the teen. She said the family is troubled by posts on social media made by other teens that appear to report circumstances surrounding the death. She said that information has been turned over to detectives.
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She said an arrest will bring relief but no solace to his grieving loved ones.
"That's never going to give a mother peace," said Rodriguez. "It will probably help, but you can't put a mom at peace like that – a son was taken, a child was taken. A mom can never be at peace."
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call 911 or the Dallas police detectives at 214-671-36841.
NBC 5's Brian Roth contributed to this report.
