An 18-year-old Dayton man, Gerardo Olivares-Mancha, died as a result of a drive-by shooting just after midnight on Wednesday, June 28, at his home on PR 4894B off of FM 1413 in Southwest Dayton.
The home that Olivares-Mancha shared with his parents and two sisters was sprayed with bullets by an unknown assailant. At the time of the attack, Olivares-Mancha, his mother and two sisters were at home. Their father was working in Texas City.
One of the bullets struck Olivares-Mancha in the back while he was sitting in a gaming chair in his bedroom where he was playing video games. His mother and sisters, ages 16 and 20, were uninjured.
Olivares-Mancha was flown to a Houston area trauma center where he later died during surgery, according to Capt. David Meyers, a spokesperson for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.
When asked if investigators have determined a motive for the shooting, Meyers said, “We’re trying to decipher that. We’re ultimately investigating to find out if this house was the target house or if it was confused with another house.”
Meyers said that dozens of rounds were fired into the home and into vehicles parked in front of the house.
A witness told authorities he saw a suspicious light-colored truck in the neighborhood around the same time as the shooting. Investigators will be reviewing all surveillance videos for additional clues in the shooting.
The fatal shooting was the second to occur in the Dayton area within a short 2-3-hour time frame. The other fatal shooting took place on N. Winfree St.
The two murders come at a time when the Liberty County District Attorney is wrapping up two previous murder trials. District Attorney Jennifer Bergman came to the scene of the drive-by shooting to assist in the investigation.
Bergman said it is really sad that two more victims and two more families have suffered a loss.
“As the district attorney, it feels like we are bailing water out of a leaky ship,” Bergman said, when asked if her staff feel overwhelmed by the number of recent murder cases in Liberty County.
Omg no, he was such a nice young man I was a Substitute at the high school he was always so helpful. so sad to hear this My thoughts and prayers are with him and family and friends. R.I.P