Andy Rangel was a happy and outgoing 24-year-old Hispanic man from Dallas, Texas. His family, originally from Guerrero, Mexico, described him as a young man with a promising future. His sister, Sandra Rangel, said she could not understand why anyone would want to harm him. On the eve of Easter, he had bought himself new clothes for the holiday, but he would never get the chance to wear them.
On the night of Saturday, April 8, 2023, around 11:15 p.m., Andy was outside a gas station in the 8800 block of South Polk Street in the Red Bird neighborhood of Dallas. An unidentified person shot him and then fled the scene. Emergency responders transported Andy to a local hospital, but he died from his injuries. His cousin, Camila Jaimes, described it as the "worst week ever" and the first major tragedy to strike their close-knit family.
The loss devastated Andy’s family, who had to delay his funeral due to financial constraints.
On April 16, they held a large cookout fundraiser in the Pleasant Grove area, selling tacos, flautas, and other traditional dishes to help cover the burial costs. "Food is our love language," his cousin explained, as extended family and the community came together to support them. His sister later said, "The way we had to spend our Easter, I don’t ever wish on anybody."
Dallas police immediately began an investigation into the homicide. They determined the shooter was a Hispanic man in his mid-20s who fled as a passenger in a 2006 or 2007 Buick Rendezvous driven by a woman. Investigators released a composite sketch of the male suspect and surveillance footage of the getaway car, asking the public for any information that could lead to an arrest.
The investigation led to a breakthrough a week later. On Sunday, April 16, 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested two suspects during a checkpoint search in California, near the U.S.-Mexico border. The suspects were identified as 20-year-olds Christopher Torres and Victoria Vargas Zuniga.
Both Torres and Vargas Zuniga were charged with murder in connection with Andy Rangel's death. As of April 2023, they were being held in the Imperial County Jail in El Centro, California, awaiting extradition back to Dallas to face the charges.
