A fatal shooting early Saturday morning in rural Palmview followed a confrontation between a 21-year-old man and a father and son.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that at about 12:23 a.m. Saturday, deputies received a report from someone who heard several people in a dispute and then heard shots fired in the area south of Business 83 on Watson Road.
“Upon arrival, Deputies met with a male and female, who said they were transporting Heriberto, a gunshot victim, to the hospital. Deputies observed Heriberto in the back seat of the vehicle with a gunshot wound to his lower abdomen,” the news release stated.
Deputies performed CPR on Gomez until Palmview EMS arrived and transported him to the McAllen Medical Center trauma center, where he was pronounced dead.
The sheriff’s office said deputies made contact with a second man, who has not been identified and who was also transported to the same facility after sustaining a head injury. This man was responsive but not fully conscious.
However, the probable cause affidavit says that Gomez punched a Jose Guadalupe Arredondo, knocking him down. Jose is the father of 22-year-old Mission resident Nathan Joan Arredondo, who the sheriff’s office has accused of firing the fatal shot that killed Gomez.
Alexis Darrel Garcia, a witness, told deputies that he and Gomez were in a confrontation with Jose and his son, Nathan, who was armed with a rifle.
“Alexis stated that Heriberto and Jose got into a fist fight and Heriberto knocked Jose down with a punch. Alexis stated that Nathan then shot at Heriberto, striking him in the abdomen,” the probable cause affidavit stated.
Gomez’s wife corroborated Garcia’s statement, according to the affidavit.
Neither the probable cause affidavit nor the release explained what the confrontation was about.
At about 4:20 a.m., Border Patrol notified investigators that agents had detained Nathan at the Sarita checkpoint.
“While attempting to pass the checkpoint, Border Patrol agents stopped Nathan, ran a check, and found he came back as a person on a BOLO (be on the lookout notification) for the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. Hidalgo County Investigators picked up Nathan from the Sarita Checkpoint and transported him to the Hidalgo County Detention Center, where he was booked in on murder charges,” the news release stated.
Nathan remains jailed on a $1 million bond for a charge of murder, records show.
“This is an ongoing investigation and investigators are searching for any additional information or witnesses,” the sheriff’s office said in the release.
Anyone with information should call the sheriff’s office at (956) 383-8114. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Hidalgo County Crime Stoppers at (956) 668-TIPS (8477) or download the smartphone application P3 TIPS, which allows the user to remain anonymous.
