Family members are sharing their side of the story after their loved one was shot and killed by a homeowner Wednesday night.
43 year-old Oliver Perez was shot by a homeowner during an attempted burglary. Perez was taken to University Medical Center with a gunshot wound, and later died.
The Perez family says Oliver Perez struggled with drug addiction and had a criminal record, but they hoped he would be able to turn his life around.
“The person who did this and shot so many times, he shouldn’t have gone to that extent,” said Sara Martinez, Perez’s sister, “We lost a family member, I lost my brother, he lost his dad.”
“He reached out to me that he was trying to get help,” said Cosme Martinez, Perez’s brother. “He wanted to change his life for the boys.”
Texas law says residents have the right to protect their home, but gun experts say the decision to pull the trigger needs to be taken seriously.
“You need to be in fear for your life, or great bodily harm,” said Raymond Witham, a gun training consultant at Lonestar Shooting Sports. “It’s not like the movies, and it will be a dark spot on your soul for the rest of your life, even if the person is deserving of that.”
Neighbors have conflicting opinions on what they would have done.
“You have the right to protect your property, and it was on his property, said Casey Poindexter, a neighbor. “When I heard the shots I grabbed my pistol closer to my table so I can reach it easier.”
“It seems a little excessive to me,” said Shenai Moore, a neighbor. “It’s unfortunate that he had to die for any reason, certainly if it was just burglarizing a car.”
The Perez family acknowledges their brother was doing something wrong, but they don’t think it should have cost him his life.
