On the night of May 19, 1981, 23-year-old McAllen Police Department officer Rosalin Suarez Jr. was shot and killed during a foot pursuit after responding to a silent alarm at a business in McAllen, Texas. Suarez, a U.S. Army veteran, had been with McAllen three months after two years with the Pharr Police Department. He was survived by his wife and a brother who later joined the McAllen Police Department.

The suspect, a 29-year-old man, was later arrested in possession of Suarez’s duty weapon, which had been stolen during the assault. Reports say the same pistol had previously been stolen from the same location and was used to shoot Officer Suarez twice. The suspect was initially sentenced to death; that sentence was reduced to life imprisonment on appeal in 1987. The suspect was questioned for more than eight hours but was not charged with crimes beyond Suarez’s murder. The officer’s weapon remained missing after the incident.

The case was discussed amid broader concerns about police brutality lawsuits affecting McAllen officers and the risks they faced on duty. Did anyone in the area at the time have additional information about the scene or the stolen weapon?