“It does not help ease the pain of losing my son, because I know that I could never have him back,” Simon Cuevas’ mother said.
SAN ANTONIO — Four months after 14-year-old Simon Cuevas was shot and killed while walking home from school, one of the suspects is now in custody, and the teen’s mother is speaking out.
Fernando Flores, 18, was arrested Friday and charged with capital murder in connection with Cuevas’s death. According to an arrest affidavit, Flores is believed to be the person who pulled the trigger.
San Antonio police say Cuevas was ambushed on the afternoon of April 16 while walking home from Brewer Academy. Surveillance video from a nearby business shows five individuals following him as he left school.
When Cuevas reached the intersection of South Elmendorf and Merida streets, police say he was jumped. During the altercation, investigators say Flores pulled out a handgun and shot Cuevas in the stomach while he was on the ground. The suspects then fled the scene.
Cuevas was rushed to the hospital but died less than an hour later.
After releasing surveillance footage of two suspects, police received multiple tips identifying Flores as the alleged shooter. The affidavit also states that two of the five suspects are Flores’s brothers.
Cuevas’s mother, Alejandra Cuevas, said she experienced a mix of emotions when she learned of Flores’s arrest.
“I was filled with all these emotions. It does not help ease the pain of losing my son, because I know that I could never have him back,” she said.
She also delivered a message directly to Flores.
“I’m so angry that you couldn’t just be the one that could have stopped this. I hate that you took my son from me,” Cuevas said.
Police are still searching for 20-year-old Caesar Tijerina and a juvenile suspect whose name has not been released due to his age.
Alejandra Cuevas had a message for those still on the run: “Just know that sooner or later you’re gonna get caught. Just know that you can’t hide for long. I’m angry that you took my son’s life, and now it’s time that you pay the consequences for that.”
Alejandra Cuevas is also calling on family and friends of the suspects to do the right thing and contact authorities.
As of Tuesday, Flores remains in the Bexar County Jail on a $750,000 bond. San Antonio police say the case remains an active and ongoing investigation.