14-Year-Old Charged With Murder For Allegedly Killing 3 Teens In Texas Convenience Store Shooting

KEY POINTS

Another person was injured in the shooting
Police believe the shooting was a retaliation attack against one or more of the victims
The suspect's father drove him to and from the convenience store, police said
The father also faces capital murder charges

A 14-year-old has been charged with capital murder for allegedly firing at a Texas convenience store, killing three people. The boy is at large and is being considered armed and dangerous, police said Wednesday.

Abel Elias Acosta, 14, allegedly shot and killed three teenagers and wounded another Sunday evening, the Garland Police Department said. The incident was caught on a surveillance camera. The footage showed the boy walking toward the store in a crouched position. He then opened the door of the store and started shooting.

Abel fired around 20 shots from a .40-caliber pistol and fled the scene in a Dodge Ram pickup driven by his father. Police said the shooting could be a retaliation attack on one or more of the victims for a "previous disturbance," the New York Post reported.

Three teenagers – 14-year-old Xavier Gonzalez, 16-year-old Ivan Noyala and 17-year-old Rafael Garcia – died in the shooting. A 15-year-old who works as a cook at the store was wounded. He was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive.

MURDER SUSPECT IDENTIFIED: The court has authorized a Directive to Apprehend for 14YO Abel Elias Acosta, the shooter responsible for killing 3 & wounding a 4th @ a convenience store on 12-26-21. *photo obtained from social media* pic.twitter.com/STAe4kzuWs
— Garland Police PIO (@GarlandPD) December 29, 2021

Abel's father, Richard Acosta, was arrested Monday. The 33-year-old man faces capital murder charges for driving his son to and from the crime scene.

"It is typically not the practice of the Garland Police Department to release juvenile information, but due to the nature of the offense and potential risk to the public, the court has authorized the release of his information," the department said on Facebook.

Police are seeking the public's help to locate the teenager.

"Somebody knows where he's at. He's not doing this on his own, he's only 14," Garland Police Public Information Officer Lt. Pedro Barineau told KXAS-TV.

Xavier's uncle, Rafael Gonzalez, said his nephew was just buying food for his family at the store and had nothing to do with what led to the shooting.

"This is a shocker to us, especially so close to downtown Garland. Any time a person's life is taken, it's alarming for us, it's a tragedy," Barineau told the outlet. "And we're going do everything that we can to find out who did this so we can get them off the streets."