CONVERSE, Texas – The family of a murdered Converse teen is pushing back against how police and media have been describing his death.
Zachary Segura, 17, was shot once in the head in a parked car by a community playground Sunday. He died Tuesday after being taken off life support.
“My grandson was a prankster, loved to pop up on us and scare us. And if you needed a helping hand, boom, he was there,” said Ruby Flores, Segura’s grandmother.
Flores’ memories of the grandson she raised don’t jibe with what she’s been hearing about his murder.
“I'm not happy with the way they're talking about it,” Flores said.
Police said Segura and his shooter were struggling over what they believe was a “package” that was put into a backpack. Flores said talking about a “package” makes it sound like it was a drug deal gone wrong.
“That's not who my grandson was. I raised my grandson for 17 years.” Flores said.
Police said they don’t know exactly what the package was, but Converse Police Chief Fidel Villegas said it could have been drug-related.
“The way that we're heading this investigation, it certainly includes a lot of earmarks that make us believe we have to look into that,” Villegas said.
Although investigators detained someone earlier this week, Villegas said other things came to light regarding his interview.
“It was good information, and it was enough to make us realize that we didn't feel comfortable going through with a full custodial arrest, and so we released him,” Villegas said.
Now, police are looking at possible clues on social media, saying there was some interaction between Segura and a witness in the car and possibly between Segura and the shooter.
“There are some records that we just cannot get until the time it became an actual murder,” Villegas said.
Police believe they are getting closer to an arrest.