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A probable cause affidavit indicates that an Edinburg teen tried hiding the firearm used to shoot a 15-year-old juvenile on Monday, June 24.
Hiram Zuniga, 17, and Angel Manuel Gonzalez, 18, were both arrested the following day and charged with tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair and aggravated assault with a weapon (brain injury/paralysis), respectively.
According to the affidavit, officers responded to the 4200 block of Zinnia Avenue in McAllen in reference to a 15-year-old who possibly shot himself.
Officers learned that five males gathered at the residence to play video games when the weapon was fired.
Gonzalez spoke to detectives and said that he was visiting his 16-year-old friend who was with his 14-year-old brother and their 15-year-old cousin when Zuniga arrived at the residence in his black pickup truck.
Gonzalez met Zuniga outside the residence and was inside his truck when Zuniga showed him a black firearm, later described as a Glock 45.
Zuniga then convinced Gonzalez to take the gun because it was tight around his waist, so Gonzalez placed the gun inside the right pocket of his shorts.
The two then went back inside the residence when Gonzalez walked into his friend’s bedroom and “jokingly pointed the handgun towards his friend, and then heard a loud noise,” according to the affidavit.
“Angel stated he then noticed the victim had been shot with the firearm he was holding,” the document said. “Angel denied knowing the firearm was loaded and stated the victim had been shot on the head.”
Gonzalez then notified his friend’s mom and called 911 himself. He confronted Zuniga about the gun being loaded and punched him in the face, according to the affidavit.
Zuniga fled the location in his truck.
He was later located in the 5600 block of Petal Street in Edinburg. The weapon wasn’t found on Zuniga’s person once he was detained.
The affidavit states that Zuniga’s story was inconsistent and first stated he arrived when the 15-year-old had shot himself, but then said the victim was playing with the weapon when it accidentally discharged.
Zuniga then said that he was told to hide the weapon and buried it at an abandoned house located next to his residence.
Gonzalez and Zuniga were arrested June 25 and released the next day on $30,000 and $5,000 in bonds, respectively.
