Man pumping gas is shot and killed in front of uncle, Texas cops say. Three arrested

Three men have been arrested and charged with murder following a fatal shooting at a gas station in Houston, Texas, police say.

The 30-year-old victim, identified in media reports as Andrew Garza, was with his uncle at Sunny’s Food Store on Wednesday, Feb. 28, when they were approached by three men in an attempted robbery, police said.

“This individual who followed the victim pretended, according to the uncle, to be pumping gas as well,” Houston Police Det. Alexander Vinogradov said, KTRK reported. “And as our victim got done pumping gas, this individual produced an AR pistol and put it to the back of our victim and demanded everything he got.”

The uncle retrieved his gun and began exchanging gunfire with the three suspects, police said.

Garza, police told KPRC, was shot in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Unfortunately, the uncle had to see his nephew die in front of him,” Vinogradov said, according to KHOU.

The three suspects fled and went to a hospital, where one of them was treated for injuries sustained during the gunfire, according to police. They were taken into custody at the hospital.

Police identified the suspects as 22-year-old Travante Marques Purvis, 19-year-old Christian Nicholas Barrera and 24-year-old Fernando Aguilar Jr. They are each charged with capital murder.

Vinogradov described Garza and his uncle as “hard-working people up early in the morning, going to work,” KHOU reported.

Aniyah Garza, Andrew Garza’s 13-year-old daughter, told KTRK she wants her father remembered as the “loving father he was.”

This story was originally published February 29, 2024 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Man pumping gas is shot and killed in front of uncle, Texas cops say. Three arrested."