Turner pleads with public to help find suspect who allegedly shot, killed 17 year old

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner pleads for the public's help locating a suspect after a road-rage incident left a teenager, musician and "one of the good guys," dead after an Astros game on July 6. 

Paul Castro was driving home with his two sons from Minute Maid Park around 11 p.m. when they initially encountered the unknown suspect near the ballpark on Chartres Street near Preston, Click2Houston reported.

The suspect tried to get in front of him in traffic with Castro responding to the driver, giving him a hand gesture to convey he already had let three people in. 

“He gets out of the car and he starts yelling at me, and he’s like, stepping out of the car, and he’s yelling at me and he’s saying, ‘Let my car in.’ I said, ‘Hey man, I’ve let three cars in already," Paul said, adding that he eventually let the white Buick in line, KHOU reported. “I didn’t flash my lights. I didn’t flip him off. I let him in and he was in front of me."

The suspect then followed the Castros on I-10 east and took the Wayside exit with them, firing shots at Castro's vehicle, hitting Paul's 17-year-old son David Xavier Castro in the head. David was the only one struck by gunfire. The police are still on the lookout for the suspect.

"Someone knows the owner of the white Buick, four-door sedan with a sunroof, driven by a black male suspect who shot at a 17-year-old male who is currently on life support," Turner said in a July 7 tweet. "Please call @houstonpolice Homicide at 713-308-3600 or provide an anonymous tip to @CrimeStopHOU."

David was placed on life support for two days before Castro confirmed his son had died on July 8 at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

According to Castro, his family is taken back by devastation and that David “didn’t deserve to get shot. He is innocent. There are no words to convey the deep pain our family feels.”

"Gentle," a "nerd who embraced goofy" and a "light in the dark" are a few terms Castro used to describe his son who attended West Side High School and aspired to play percussion post-secondary. David planned to study chemical engineering at Texas A&M or Purdue University.

“David was one of the good guys," Castro said. He also added that his son "befriended kids who didn’t fit in," and that "he would have added to our world and made it better."

“I hope his killer reads this and understands that he may have killed the future man who could’ve made the world better for his own kids."

David's father said that his son would want charitable donations made out to Westside High School Wolf Band, KHOU reported. To donate, click here. Donations can also be made here.

Mayor Turner has increased the reward from $5,000 to $10,000 for anyone with information that leads to the arrest of the suspect.

Report information on the suspect by calling (713) 308-3600 or provide an anonymous tip to Houston Crime Stoppers by calling (713) 222-TIPS (8477).

Castro acknowledged that not everyone has information on the suspect to report to authorities but that there are other ways the community can help during this time.

"If you can't do that, I'm asking for a random act of kindness and service (for) my son's memory," he said.