HOUSTON – The concerns come as the case involving the shooting death of 17-year-old Mariah Alatorre returns to court. The man accused in her death, Enrique Aguilar, is due for a bond hearing tomorrow.
‘I wasn’t receiving any more messages’
Alatorre went to a party with a friend. Her mother, Yady Alatorre, said she was keeping in touch with her daughter throughout the night.
Then the messages stopped.
Yady Alatorre said it was around 12:30 a.m. when she realized she was no longer hearing from her daughter.
She later received a call from Mariah’s close friend telling her the teenager had been shot.
According to Mariah’s mother, she learned that after leaving the party, Mariah had allegedly been shot by Aguilar, a partygoer who dropped the teenage girls off at an urgent care facility before leaving.
Aguilar was arrested two months later. This the second time he is charged in a person’s death, and Alatorre says she doesn’t believe her daughter was aware.
Young witnesses reluctant to talk
Mariah’s mother said she still has questions about what happened that night, including who was there and what led to the shooting.
She said young witnesses have been reluctant to talk about what they saw, complicating the investigation.
Houston Police Officers Union President Douglas Griffith said that can make cases involving large teen gatherings difficult to investigate.
“If they make it away from that scene, they’re not gonna go home and tell their parents they were there,” Griffith said.
Social media can quickly grow a party
Griffith said social media can turn what starts as a small gathering into a much larger crowd.
He also said the presence of guns can make those gatherings even more dangerous.
With Aguilar’s bond hearing scheduled for tomorrow, Griffith said he believes the case highlights the need for consequences when violence happens at these gatherings.
“I think the courts need to set an example and say, hey, look, we can’t tolerate this,” Griffith said.
What parents can watch for
Mariah’s mother said she had her daughter’s location that night, but knowing where her daughter was did not prevent what happened.
Griffith said prevention starts with parents knowing where their teens are — but also knowing who they are with.
He said parents should pay attention to when gatherings grow too large or become difficult to control, and recognize when it may be time for their teens to leave.
For Mariah’s family, questions remain about what happened after she left that party and what led to the shooting that ended her life.
Aguilar’s bond hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.
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