PASADENA, Texas – A 20-year-old suspect accused of killing his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend has reportedly died by suicide, the Pasadena Police Department said.
Juan Carlos Mata was on the run after he allegedly shot his ex-girlfriend Leslie Reyes in the head outside a Pasadena apartment on Monday.
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According to police, officers received a call for a suspicious person wandering around what they described as a “makeshift memorial” at the parking lot.
When they arrived, the man, later identified as Mata, ran behind a car and retrieved a shotgun. That was when, police said, Mata shot himself. He died at the scene.
Police are now calling the investigation a murder-suicide.
It was unclear how long Mata stayed in the area, but officers believe he stayed in the area after the shooting took place.
What happened?
On Tuesday, officers received a call for a shooting in the 3100 block of Pasadena Boulevard near Preston Avenue at around midnight.
Investigators say Mata showed up at the apartment around 6 p.m. Monday looking for Reyes. He was waiting for her to return to her apartment from O’Reilly Auto Parts. They were seen talking in the parking lot and then it escalated.
Reyes’ family, according to police, called 911 after they found her shot to death outside her apartment. Her sister told KPRC 2′s Sabirah Rayford that her family’s pain is “indescribable.”
Police said he shot Reyes in the head — fired a couple of shots in the air and took off on foot, leaving his car behind and the Reyes family devastated.
“She loved cars. That’s what she liked doing,” said Lourdes Martinez, Reyes’ sister. “She was a very sweet girl. When I struggled, she would help me.”
Pasadena Police said the investigation remains ongoing.