READING, Pa. – Berks County District Attorney John Adams says there were words that led to one 16-year-old losing his life and another landing behind bars.
“He said to his son, ‘Go get my gun,’” Adams said of a father’s instructions to his son.
The DA said 16-year-old Daniel Cruz Jr. of Reading will be moved to a county jail as he stands charged with criminal homicide and other offenses after a shooting on the Fourth of July in the city.
“This dispute was frankly created by Daniel Cruz Sr.,” Adams said. “Why he ever requested that his son go get his gun is a question that will probably never be answered.”
Adams said it all started with a dispute over trash outside an Independence Day family gathering in the 1100 block of Windsor Street just before midnight.
Authorities said Daniel Cruz Sr. got out of his car and started pounding on a garage. The affidavit describes a fight that the 16-year-old shooting victim tried to break up. The elder Cruz then told his son to go back to their house and get his gun, which the DA says the dad was legally allowed to have.
“The incident that took place in the alleyway was a result of the father’s displeasure that there was garbage in the alleyway. Frankly, we have no evidence who put the garbage there,” he said.
The teen who was shot in the back was pronounced dead at Reading Hospital. According to an affidavit, the father says he was attacked by several people and told his son to leave. He also said he didn’t know who the shooter was and only heard what he described as a gunshot or fireworks after he tried to flee to his home.
“A reckless act of shooting a gun into a group of people,” Adams said.