DALLAS — An argument at a toddler’s birthday party in South Texas escalated into a shooting that left four men dead and a fifth man wounded, authorities said Sunday. The shooting happened at a child’s first birthday party Saturday afternoon in Taft, 12 miles north of Corpus Christi, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. Sgt. Nathan Brandley said those involved were distant relatives. Authorities did not say what the men were arguing about.
A 20-year-old man was in custody Sunday, Brandley said. The man’s 37-year-old father was also a suspect, but he had not yet been arrested, Brandley said.
“There was a lot of people who witnessed this happen,” Brandley said. “Still interviewing eye-witnesses and everybody that was there at the party, trying to piece all the pieces of the puzzle together.”
He 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.
The wounded man, 43-year-old Juan Espinoza Jr., was airlifted to a Corpus Christi hospital. Brandley said he’s expected to survive.
Officials are hoping to release more information on the case later Sunday evening, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth reports.
“Once we get some warrants processed on the people we are looking for then we can get some information out to the public,” Brandley said.
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