Numbered markers scattered throughout an alley between Mariposa and Martinez Streets in Rio Grande City are all that is left of the crime scene.
Rio Grande City police combed through every piece of evidence they could find near the crime scene on Tuesday.
Investigators are trying to figure out why the 27-year-old man, residents found dead in the alley, had been shot.
“We have very few leads right now,” Rio Grande City Police Chief Dutch Piper said.
Chief Piper told Action 4 News they found numerous items near the victim—his identification, Mexican currency, and cell phone.
But, he said, none of those items leave a clue as to what transpired between the victim and alleged shooter. Piper added, the man was shot at a different location and then dropped off in the alley.
“We do believe that he was dropped off,” Piper said. “The crime scene indicates that.”
That could explain why people, like Benardo Tanguma, did not hear a gunshot, fight, or any commotion from the alley.
“Everything looked normal,” Tanguma said.
Tanguma told Action 4 News he has lived near the alley for 14 years.
In those year he said he has never seen any type of violent crime occur.
So when he stepped out of his home early Tuesday morning…a body was the last thing he expected to see.
“This is a peaceful area,” Tanguma started. “Nothing has happened here until now. You wake up and there’s a dead person there.”
Tanguma said, despite living in a peaceful neighborhood, he does live close to the border and that almost guarantees more violence will come their way.
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