On April 9, 2025, four-year-old Jrako Alexander Castillo died from a gunshot wound at a residence on the 2900 block of East Bates Street in Lubbock, Texas. Emergency responders arrived after shots were reported at about 5:21 p.m.; Jrako was given first aid and taken to University Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

According to initial accounts, Jrako was in a bedroom with his mother, Samantha Castillo, her four children, and 25-year-old Isaiah Holland, who was visiting. Samantha said she and Holland were lying on the bed when she heard a gunshot and found Jrako at the foot of the bed. A five-year-old girl later told a forensic interviewer that her mother and Holland were asleep with a gun between them and that Jrako accidentally shot himself with Holland’s firearm. Holland fled but was apprehended the same day; officers say he discarded a .22 caliber handgun during a foot chase. He was indicted on a tampering-with-evidence charge for removing the firearm and is held at the Lubbock County Detention Center with bond set at $250,000.

Jrako was born March 20, 2021, to Jared Ramirez and Samantha Castillo and was remembered as a joyful child who loved Spiderman, playing with siblings and cousin, and pizza and candy.

Does anyone have information about events at the Bates Street residence that evening or about witnesses who have not yet been contacted?