A Texas family’s quiet evening turned into tragedy when police say two brothers were shot and killed by a neighbor described by authorities as a “ticking time bomb” in a sudden, unprovoked attack outside their home.
Maliki Perales, 11, and his 20-year-old brother, Drayvn Quiroz, were killed on August 4 near their residence in San Antonio, Texas.
According to officials, 40-year-old Daniel Antonio Perez rushed across the street as the brothers were helping move a vehicle into the driveway and began shooting without warning or apparent provocation.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Perez also allegedly fired toward two of the victims’ other siblings, but the shots did not strike them.
In the chaos that followed, the boys’ father tried desperately to save his sons by performing CPR. Perales, who suffered gunshot wounds to the head and torso, was pronounced dead at 8.49pm, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Quiroz survived the initial shooting but died the next morning shortly after 9am, officials said.
Investigators said Perez left the scene while calling 911 himself, reportedly telling dispatchers that he had shot his neighbors.
Authorities later said he hid in a nearby backyard and threw away a handgun, which was eventually found and recovered by investigators.
Maliki Perales, 11, was gunned down by his neighbor whilst his brother was backing their car into the driveway of their San Antonio home
Drayvn Quiroz, 20, was also shot and was pronounced dead the day after the shooting. His younger brother died the several hours before him that day the tragedy occurred
Daniel Antonio Perez, 40, allegedly approached the brothers and shot them. Officials said the shooting was unprovoked and may have been experiencing a mental health crisis
‘It’s an extremely unfortunate situation for the family that just simply fell victim to this guy. Unbeknownst to them, they had what I would believe and categorize as a ticking time bomb right across the street from them,’ Salazar said.
The sheriff announced that Perez’s charges would be upgraded to include two counts of capital murder, along with several other charges.
Investigators said there was no known history between the neighbors and nothing that appeared to have provoked the attack.
Officials said Perez may have been experiencing a mental health crisis, though Salazar disputed suggestions that it absolved him of responsibility.
‘He still had the presence of mind and the culpable mental state to go conceal the weapon somewhere, and then go conceal himself somewhere else,’ the sheriff said.
‘The only reason we found him is because we were able to utilize his cell phone signal to ping where he was.’
Salazar added that family members later described possible warning signs of mental illness.
‘What we’re hearing since then from family members is that there had been some signs,’ he said.
The local sheriff described the brothers’ neighbor as a ‘ticking time bomb’
Perez pictured being escorted by deputies at the Bexar Adult Detention Center)
The victims’ father, Andrew Perales, mourned his son and said: ‘ I raised them right. They had good morals. They had good values’
‘There had been some issues with him going through mental health crises before depression, possibly seeing things that were not there. That was never reported to authorities.’
The tragedy has left the victims’ father, Andrew Perales, in shambles as he questioned how he would move on without his boys in an interview outside their home with News4SA.
‘I don’t even know how I’m gonna bury him,’ Perales said. ‘I don’t know how I want to carry on. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.’
He added that moments before his sons were shot, he was on the phone ordering them food when he heard ‘pops.’
His wife began screaming. He ran to grab his gun and headed outside before tripping over the body of one of his sons.
‘The guy was across the street reloading, started to shoot again,’ Perales said.
He added that he had also tried to perform CPR on one of his boys.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family of the victims as they face such a devastating tragedy.
Perales described his sons to the outlet: ‘My boys were strong. They were fighters. I raised them right. They had good morals. They had good values.’
The father was asked what he would say to his sons’ alleged killer.
He said he had no comment before adding: ‘The devil knows my intentions, but God knows my heart.’
In addition to Perez’s upgraded charges, he faces four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and is being held on $2.3 million bond.
