In the late hours of November 6, 2024, multiple gunshots were fired into a north Wichita home on the 2300 block of North Mascot, killing 48-year-old Deanna Garcia and wounding her 49-year-old husband. The couple was preparing for bed around 11 p.m. when gunfire struck both occupants; witnesses reported hearing as many as 18 to 20 shots. Deanna Garcia suffered a critical upper-body gunshot wound and was pronounced deceased at 11:54 p.m. Her husband was treated for a non-life-threatening leg wound and released from the hospital.

The Wichita Police Department investigated and on December 19, 2024, arrested an 18-year-old male acquaintance of the victims on suspicion of first-degree murder, firing a gun into an occupied dwelling, and aggravated battery. The suspect had a listed address the same as the victims’ but investigators do not believe he was living there at the time; police say he was on foot outside the home when the shooting occurred. The motive remains under investigation.

If anyone in north Wichita that night saw activity near the 2300 block of North Mascot or has information about the suspect, please share what is known with investigators.