A February 4, 2023 off-campus party near Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, ended in gunfire shortly after midnight. Eighteen-year-old Cruz Garcia of Livingston, Texas, was critically wounded and taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, where he died early on February 5. Another 18-year-old, James Jones of Huntsville, also died shortly after the shooting. Two more people were wounded and hospitalized in serious condition.

The shooting happened near 19th Street and Avenue O, close to the university. First responders from the Huntsville Police Department, Walker County EMS, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Sam Houston State University police, and Walker County Sheriff’s deputies attended the scene. Two suspects from Livingston — 22-year-old Joe Allen Lewis and 19-year-old Lynn Johnson — were arrested that afternoon. Lewis was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, and held on $250,000 bond; Johnson was charged with assault causing bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor, with bond set at $50,000. Authorities said additional charges could follow.

Anyone who attended the party or has information about the shooting is asked to contact Sergeant John Thompson with the Huntsville Police Department.