ESCONDIDO – Before Maria Salazar went out Friday night, she told her son Eduardo Aranda to stay home and not have friends over. He was on probation, and he wasn't “supposed to be out,” Salazar said.
She called sometime between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. Eduardo, 15, who went by Eddie, picked up and told her he didn't have anyone over.
It was the last time she spoke with him.
Salazar believes her son left home with a friend, met up with three others, went to a Carl's Jr. and started to head back.
Police said the group was walking north on Spruce Street, near Seventh Avenue, when a red compact car drove near them. Several shots were fired from the car, and one of the bullets from a .22-caliber revolver struck Eduardo in the torso. He died at the scene.
Prosecutors say Nestor Garcia, 17, fired the shots. He was arrested on suspicion of murder, along with Eliud Eduardo Rangel, 16, and Osiel Junior Reyes, 18.
The three pleaded not guilty Tuesday; the two juveniles are being tried as adults.
Police are looking for a fourth suspect, Edwin Rangel, 18, of Escondido. Authorities are offering a $2,500 reward for information that leads to his arrest. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 888-580-TIPS.
“We're following up on some information that we've received from the community,” Escondido Police Lt. Bob Benton said. “We're hoping that, with this reward money, more tips will come forward.”
Benton said Rangel's family members told police they haven't seen him since the shooting, which occurred about 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
Salazar, who also has an 11-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl, said some people have said her eldest son shouldn't have been out late or hanging out with certain friends. But she said that doesn't justify what happened.
“The point is, no one deserves to be shot and killed just for something stupid,” she said.
Prosecutors say the shooting was gang-related. Benton said three of the suspects, including both 18-year-olds, are documented gang members. Eduardo, however, wasn't, Benton said.
Salazar said some of her son's friends were in gangs.
She said Eduardo had been in trouble, but not for violent crime. “To me, he had a big heart,” she said. He enjoyed music, going to the beach and rooting for the Chargers.
Tuesday would have been Eduardo's 16th birthday. Salazar said friends and family members gathered that day at a memorial near where he was shot, leaving balloons and singing happy birthday for him. “I'm still kind of in denial,” she said. “It's just hard.”
Matthew Rodriguez: (760) 737-7577; matthew.rodriguez@uniontrib.com
