Witnesses Talk About Deadly Shooting at Quinceañera

One killed, several injured at party that turned violent

One man is dead after a Quinceañera at an Ellis County home turned violent late Saturday night. 

The exact cause of the violence is not known but officers believe alcohol was a contributing factor that left a man in his 30's dead, an 11-year-old boy hospitalized and several other adults either shot, stabbed or beaten.

Two brothers who live nearby said they were surprised about what happened. They had been at the party taking part in a dance, as part of the Quinceañera tradition.

“If we stayed we probably would've gotten shot or something. It erupted after we left,” said Jesus Loya.

Loya and his brother, who attend the same church as many of the attendees, say soon after they left they heard gunfire and screaming.

“I heard four fires and then screaming like, 'Don't do it, don't do it,'” explained Rafael Loya. “Then this boy came over and said, 'They shot my brother, they shot my brother.'”

Neighbors said the couple who lives at the home on Wickliffe was hosting the party for their niece who was turning 15-years-old.   Deputies said the girl was not hurt but will have to live with the tough memories of a party which was supposed to celebrate a birthday and rite of passage.

“It was terrible, why would people bring guns to a party?” asked Rafael Loya.

The 11-year-old boy is recovering, according to a family friend, after undergoing surgery at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas.

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