“I’m deeply emotional about this news. My prayers were for the capture of all suspects, but not in this manner.”
SAN ANTONIO — A 20-year-old suspect wanted in connection with the killing of a San Antonio teenager is hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt, police said Friday.
Caesar Tijerina, 20, was found early Friday morning in Laredo with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to Laredo police. He was flown to University Hospital in San Antonio in critical condition.
Tijerina is one of several suspects accused in the April 2025 murder of 14-year-old Simon Cuevas, who was fatally shot while walking home from school. San Antonio police identified Tijerina as a suspect in the case last week, along with 18-year-old Fernando Flores and a juvenile male.
According to investigators, Cuevas was attacked by five individuals at the intersection of South Elmendorf and Merida Street. During the altercation, police say Flores pulled a gun and shot Cuevas in the stomach, killing him.
Flores was arrested Aug. 14 and charged with capital murder. That same day, police announced warrants for Tijerina and a juvenile suspect.
Laredo police said they were called to a home around 4 a.m. Friday for a report of an attempted suicide. Upon arrival, officers found a man with a gunshot wound to the head who was later identified as Tijerina.
“This arrest warrant was for a murder that had occurred for a victim between the ages of 10 to 15 years of age,” a Laredo police spokesperson said during a press briefing. Tijerina was first taken to a Laredo hospital before being airlifted due to the severity of his injuries.
The victim’s mother, Alejandra Cuevas, reacted to the developments in a social media post Friday afternoon, saying, “My prayers were for the capture of all suspects, but not in this manner.”
Earlier in the week, Alejandra spoke directly to the suspects still at large.
“Just know that sooner or later you’re gonna get caught,” she said. “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.”
A candlelight vigil was held Friday evening at Simon’s memorial, led by Pastor Vincent Robinson of Harpers Chapel Ministries, a church the Cuevas family attends.
“She didn’t want this,” Robinson said on Alejandra’s behalf. “She wants justice for Simon, but this is not the way she wanted it.”
San Antonio police declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing investigation.