Natanael Fuentes Reyes, 68, and Guadalupe Flores, 74, were ambushed while walking in Whiteheather Park on June 27, according to the Houston Police Department.
HOUSTON — Houston homicide detectives have arrested a suspect in a double shooting on Friday, June 27, at a southwest Houston park.
Charles Ernest Lopez, 25, is charged with capital murder, according to the Houston Police Department.
Editor’s note: The above video originally aired the day of the shootings
Investigators said the victims were walking in Wildheather Park on White Heather Drive when they were gunned down from behind just before 6 a.m.
“As they were walking the trails, it appears that somebody either ambushed them or came up from behind them and fired multiple gunshots into both victims, and even stood over them and fired more gunshots into their body,” HPD investigator Michael Arrington said.
A witness who was also walking on the westside trail found the bodies.
The victims were later identified as Natanael Fuentes Reyes, 68, and Guadalupe Flores, 74.
A witness told detectives the shooter sped away in a white, four-door sedan.
On Monday, June 30, members of the HPD Southwest Patrol Crime Suppression team spotted the vehicle and stopped the driver. They said Lopez confessed to his role in the shooting and was arrested and charged.
“At this point, it does not appear to be robbery because they still had their phones and keys and everything on them,” Arrington said on Friday.
‘Senseless act of violence’
KHOU 11’s Deevon Rahming was the first reporter at the scene on Friday and said neighbors reported hearing more than a dozen gunshots just before 6 a.m.
“When I came outside, I saw all the crime scene tape and the police out here and there was a family out here and they were all crying and one of the sons said that was their dad walking with another neighbor,” one neighbor said.
Dozens of grieving family members trickled into the park as news spread. They identified one victim as Nataneal Fuentes, a retired chef who loved his family.
“One thing he instilled in us is faith in Jesus Christ — always trust in the Lord,” son Willie Fuentes told KHOU 11.
Fuentes believes God forgives whoever killed his father, but they still want the suspect or suspects caught.
“It’s just a senseless act of violence; not sure why it would happen; my father would just come and do his walks, that’s about it, just exercising,” Fuentes said.
“We’ll miss my uncle. I just want justice for him,” Carlos Eli Ventura said.
If you have any information about what happened, you’re asked to contact Houston Police or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).