HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Family and friends gathered Monday to celebrate the life of a 12-year-old Houston boy who was shot at his home in the Cloverleaf area earlier this month.
Carlos Fernandez was killed on March 4 while rushing to check on his sleeping sisters after hearing a noise, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
"I don't want everybody to remember Carlos for the senseless tragedy, I want them to remember him for the young man that he was, the protector, the big brother, the big cousin,” Delfino Gonzales, the boy's uncle, said.
Gonzales said the family is finding strength through the outpouring of love from the community.
"The prayers, the text messages, the phone calls, you guys keeping the story going. I mean, it's just a testament of a community coming together and a city coming together to be there and support, you know, us in this tragic time," Gonzales told us on Sunday.
He described his nephew as a great kid.
"Just very humble, never complained. Every time he was asked to do something, he took care of it. He did it. He was a protector, he always looked after his sisters," he said.
Gonzales had this message for Terry Bryan Rivera, 27, who's charged with capital murder in Fernandez's death.
"Turn yourself in. Be a man. Don't be a coward and run. You know what you did,” Gonzales said. “You're man enough to carry a gun. Well, be man enough to face the consequences of your senseless actions."
Rivera is the ex-boyfriend of the victim's mother. Investigators said he fired several shots through an open bedroom window at the family's Cloverleaf apartment where Fernandez's sisters were sleeping.
The boy was shot several times when he ran into the room to check on the girls.
On Sunday, Rivera's mother, Alva Cornejo was arrested and charged with hindering apprehension. During an overnight court appearance, prosecutors said investigators found text messages that Cornejo sent to someone asking them to pick up her son after the shooting. They said she also searched the internet about how to travel to the border of Mexico.
Cornejo's bond was set at $25,000.
If you have any information about Rivera's whereabouts, contact HCSO or Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477). There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to the killer's arrest and conviction.