One-year after three teens were killed inside a convenience store, Garland detectives say they’re following daily leads, to try and find the accused killer. Meanwhile, the family of one of those killed marked the anniversary and renewed their call for justice.
One-year after three teens were killed inside a convenience store Garland police detectives say daily leads are being followed to try and find the accused killer.
This comes as the family of one of those killed marks the anniversary with a remembrance and a renewed call for justice.
Where you might expect balloons to mark a celebratory occasion, Brenda Salinas says rows of white chairs inside the home of her mother-in-law will be filled Monday evening for prayer and remembrance for a moment she’d give anything to forget.
“We relive it every day especially since he’s not here,” Salinas said. “We don’t see that smile walking in.”
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That smile belonged to Xavier Gonzalez.
The 14-year-old Garland High freshman loved horses, football and hunting. He was waiting in line for tacos inside a convenience store at a Texaco gas station in the 700 block of West Walnut Street when he and three other boys were shot.
Gonzalez died along with 16-year-old Ivan Noyala and 17-year-old Rafael Garcia. A fourth teen, a cook at the restaurant, was wounded but survived.
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“Sadness, anger, there are all kinds of emotions running today,” Salinas said. “Christmas was a day we all got together and this tore us apart.”
Garland investigators said Gonzalez was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time on Dec. 26, 2021, and said the shooting arose from a dispute he had nothing to do with.
Surveillance video outside the convenience store showed a suspect walking alongside the building and then opening fire.
In the days following the shooting, police arrested Richard Acosta Jr., and a Dallas County grand jury charged him with capital murder for driving his son to the gas station and then acting as the getaway driver.
Acosta Jr. goes on trial in February, but his son Abel Acosta is now 15-years-old and is still on the run.
Garland police made the rare decision to identify Abel Acosta as the suspected shooter because of the ongoing threat to public safety.
Lieutenant Richard Maldonado told NBC 5 said detectives are still actively working on the case every day.
“Please understand it’s something that’s extremely difficult when somebody just drops off the map,” Lt. Maldonado said.
Maldonado said Garland PD continues to work in tandem with the U.S. Marshals Service tracking down leads daily.
Salinas said her family will mark the anniversary with a graveside remembrance on Monday and a prayer vigil at the home Gonzalez grew up in.
“The pictures that we have now are just memories,” Salinas said. “The memories that we’re going to keep forever.”
