SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department said it is searching for a suspect in connection with a deadly shooting on the Northeast Side.
The family of the victim identified him as 38-year-old Jeremiah Sendejo.
“I said, please don’t tell me that you’re here to tell me that my son has passed, and he just looked at me, and he just shook his head and said, yes ma’am, I’m so sorry, and I just lost it, said Cynthia Sendejo Casey, Jeremiah’s mother.
Officers responded to the shooting call just before 2 a.m. Saturday in the 6900 block of Interstate 35 North.
When they arrived at a hotel parking lot, officers said they found Sendejo suffering from a gunshot wound.
“He didn’t even see the guy come up to him, he was focused on the guy he had pinned on the ground,” said a coworker who asked to remain anonymous.
Sendejo was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead, authorities said.
According to SAPD’s initial investigation released Saturday, Sendejo had an altercation with an unidentified suspect. The suspect fired their weapon, striking Sendejo, and then fled the scene, SAPD said.
The anonymous coworker we spoke to said Sendejo’s girlfriend was with him at the time of the altercation.
“You see her (the girlfriend) trying to intervene, just your thoughts?” asked KSAT’s John Paul Barajas.
“That’s why I told her I’m glad that they didn’t get mad at you and try and shoot you,” answered the coworker, adding, “As soon as he fell, she dropped to the ground and grabbed him, and he took his last breath in her arms,”
It is not yet known how many suspects authorities are looking for in connection with the shooting.
Now, the Sendejo family is looking for justice, not just for Jeremiah but for the two children he leaves behind.
“You took my son’s life, and you took a father from their children. He was a gentle person, he had a heart of gold, he was a singer, he was a jokester, he was my friend,” said Sendejo Casey.
While the family waits for an arrest, they are raising money to bury Jeremiah at the family plot in Bishop.