On January 8, 2023, 35-year-old Hector Rafael Burgos-Torres was fatally shot at the Lincoln West Apartments in Mountville, Pennsylvania. Officers arriving at a reported burglary found Burgos-Torres deceased with multiple gunshot wounds after an incident around 4 a.m. Investigators say he had confronted two men outside the complex, forced them into an apartment at gunpoint, and threatened a female resident, her guest, and their young children while pointing two guns and demanding money.

A struggle followed when one of the men tried to disarm Burgos-Torres and the other retrieved a firearm from a closet and shot him multiple times. The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office concluded the shooting was an act of self-defense, finding the shooter reasonably believed deadly force was necessary to protect himself and others; no charges were filed for the killing. The shooter was later charged with illegal possession of a firearm, receiving stolen property, and possession with intent to deliver marijuana because the gun used had been reported stolen in 2017.

Burgos-Torres was born January 6, 1988, in Guayama, Puerto Rico. He worked as a laborer in manufacturing, enjoyed working on cars, fishing, basketball, boxing, and cooking, and is survived by his longtime companion Nohely Burgos, their daughter Arianie Chanelle Burgos, his mother, stepfather, and several siblings. If anyone has information about the events that night or knew Hector, please come forward.