A Texas mother was fatally shot Monday during a home invasion when a group of armed teens allegedly broke into her family’s home.
Three teens, Josue Lopez, 17, Kane Lopez, 17, and a 16-year-old male were charged in connection with the early morning killing of 40-year-old Margarita Villalon.
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Josue Lopez is facing capital murder charges. Kane Lopez and the 16-year-old face aggravated robbery charges.
All three are in custody.
The teens allegedly kicked in the door of Villalon’s Baytown home around 1:45 a.m., demanded money from her two teenage sons, and then shot Villalon in front of her husband and children, Baytown Police Department Lt. Steve Dorris tells PEOPLE.
“They came into the house and terrorized them,” he says.
Dorris says the motive was a robbery.
“One of the reasons they went to the house is they knew the people and they didn’t think there would be any resistance from them,” he says.
Police allege the same teens committed a burglary earlier that day at another residence in the same neighborhood. Police also allege they attempted another home invasion after Villalon’s killing and shot the homeowner, but his injuries are not life-threatening.
“They’re 16 and 17-year-olds and they’re involved in robberies, they’re involved in homicides. That’s the scary part and the unsettling part,” Dorris says. “Where do you go wrong in society when you have teenage kids doing stuff like that?”
Dorris says the teens have not been charged in connection to those incidents.
Dorris says the teens wore masks but one of Villalon’s sons recognized one of their voices and told the police.
“He was able to provide us a name,” he says.
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Dorris said police also suspect that at least two other males, a 19-year-old and a 16-year-old, are involved, but charges have yet to be filed.
It wasn’t immediately clear if any of the suspects had entered a plea or retained an attorney.
Villalon was the loving mother of 11 children, multiple outlets reports.
“My mom is the backbone of this family,” Villalon’s son, Saul Deleon, told KHOU. “She did everything for us. My mom was everybody’s mom.”
“I’m just going to miss her,” he told FOX26. “Seems like everything was going so perfectly. She just started a new job that she really wanted.”
