Top: Acosta, seen firing into the store. Four people were injured by the initial gunfire. Bottom: Acosta inside of the store, firing at random. Xavier Gonzalez, who would die in the shooting, can be seen hiding under a chair.
On December 26, 2021, a mass shooting took place at a Texaco convenience store in Garland, Texas. 14-year-old Abel Acosta, armed with a .40-caliber pistol, opened fire on several teenagers, killing three and seriously injuring one other.[1]
At 8:50 PM CDT, a white truck with two occupants pulled up to a Texaco-owned convenience store in Garland.[2] Acosta exited the passenger side of the vehicle, and walked behind the truck, positioning himself on one of the exterior walls of the store. He then walked up to the front door, and stopped before ducking under a window.[3] Seconds later, Acosta got up, opened the entrance door and reached inside of the building, before firing 20 rounds from a .40-caliber pistol with an extended magazine.[4][5]
The first person shot was Xavier Gonzalez, who was shot multiple times by Acosta; he was seriously injured. Acosta then stepped inside of the store, where he stood above Gonzalez and shot him in the shoulder/back multiple times, significantly injuring him. Acosta then shot at Ivan Noyola and Rafael Garcia, both of whom had already been injured when Acosta first opened fire inside of the store. As Noyola and Garcia attempted to flee, they were shot in the back and were fatally wounded. After firing several shots at them, Acosta shot at another teenager, David Rodriguez, who was employed with the store, injuring him in the chest. Acosta then ran back to the white truck, and the vehicle sped off.[6][7][8][9]
Xavier Gonzalez was shot 10 times, Ivan Noyola was shot 4 times, and Rafael Garcia was shot 2 times, including once in the heart.[10]
Aftermath
Victims
The three victims of the shooting were between the ages of 14 and 17. The youngest, Xavier Gonzalez, was believed to have been uninvolved with Acosta prior to the shooting.[4][11]
Trial
Although Abel Acosta is still wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the shooting,[12] the driver of the white truck, identified as Abel's father Richard Acosta Jr., turned himself in the day after the shooting and was arrested for facilitating the attack and acting as a getaway driver.[13] In February 2022, Acosta Jr. was indicted by the Dallas County court on a capital murder charge,[14] which can carry the death sentence in the state of Texas.[15] In February 2023, Acosta Jr. was found guilty of capital murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[16][17][18]
People who committed crimes while under 18 years old are, as per a U.S. Supreme Court judgment, ineligible for the death penalty. People who commit capital crimes while 14–16 years old and while sentenced as adults, under Texas law, have a maximum sentence of life with parole. Under Texas law, people who commit capital murder while being a 17-year-old have the maximum sentence of life without parole; people who commit crimes at age 17 are treated as adults under Texas law.[19]
Perpetrator
Abel Acosta was 14 years old at the time of the shooting. The reason he carried out the shooting is disputed, but it is believed to have been because of prior conflict between him and Ivan Noyola, who would die in the shooting. After the attack, Acosta fled from authorities and is believed to be in Mexico.[20][21]
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