SAN ANTONIO – A West Side family believes their loved one was set up after he was shot and killed at their apartment complex -- and now they want answers.
San Antonio Police say they found Julian Ramon Alvarado, 20, suffering from a gunshot wound at the Ingram Ranch Apartments in the 2400 block of Oak Hill Road.
“I got the call around 8:45 yesterday that my son had been shot,” said Rosanne Juarez, Alvarado’s mother. “I came home, and by the time I got there, this whole complex was barricaded. I was told he had already been transported, so I rushed to the hospital, but when I got there, they told (me) he didn’t make it. I didn’t get a chance to see him.”
Gilbert Juarez, Alvarado’s grandfather, has a devastating last memory of his grandson.
“I just got off work, and I heard bullets. I looked out, and someone said someone got shot,” Gilbert Juarez said. “I ran to see who it was so I could help, and then I saw that it was my grandson.”
He said once medical personnel arrived, they asked him to give his grandson mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for CPR.
“I did blow, and I tried, but the air was coming out, I guess, through the bullet hole,” Gilbert Juarez said. “They tried everything they could. I didn’t know what to do, so I started praying to God. Man, I just felt helpless, helpless that I couldn’t help him.”
Rosanne Juarez said she believes her son was set up in an organized crime. San Antonio police said when they got to the scene, they found shell casings and drugs on the ground.
“It does seem like it was organized,” Rosanne Juarez said. “I have heard so many things. It brings more questions, like, ‘What did that have to do with my son?' Like, ‘Who were these people, and why was he involved with them?' I just have so many questions, and I know I just have to let detectives do their jobs so that we can have answers soon.”
Rosanne Juarez said her son was a fun and selfless person who had a very contagious smile.
“He always could make someone smile, no matter what,” she said. “He was just so free spirited.”
Alvarado was on his way to the Marine Corps.
“He liked combat. He was fearless. He definitely toughened me up, me and his sister. He just passed his (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) test and was going to receive his diploma next month,” Rosanne Juarez said. “Now, he won’t be able to be at his ceremony. A parent always wants to be the one to die first. We shouldn’t see our children die before us, so that is why this was very shocking to me.”
Rosanne Juarez said she is more shocked that someone could do this to her son because he had so many friends.
“He had so many friends and supporters,” she said. “I just want the people responsible for this to know that you are forgiven, and I just ask that you do the right thing and turn yourself in.”
Police are asking anyone with any information that could lead to an arrest to call authorities immediately.
The family said it plans to have a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Saturday at Ingram Apartments. They are inviting everyone to come.