Two friends, 68 and 74, shot dead on daily walk, Texas cops say. Man arrested

Days after two friends were shot to death while on a daily walk together, Texas police say they’ve made an arrest.

Charles Ernest Lopez, 24, is accused of killing 74-year-old Guadalupe Flores and 68-year-old Natanael Reyes, the Houston Police Department said in a July 1 news release, adding that Lopez was arrested on June 30.

Flores and Reyes were friends and neighbors who walked the same trail together every day at Wildheather Park, on Houston’s southwest side, according to police. Police say officers responded to a call at 5:45 a.m. Friday, June 27, and found the men on the trail, both with multiple gunshot wounds.

They were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

“Both appeared to have been shot from behind,” according to police.

Surveillance video captured Lopez shooting the men, standing over them and continuing to fire while they were on the ground, police told KRIV.

Initially, investigators had few details about the shooter, except that he was “an unknown male who fled in a white 4-door sedan eastbound from the location.”

But police continued looking into the vehicle, which eventually led them to Lopez, the department said.

“Members of the HPD Southwest Patrol Crime Suppression team located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop,” police said. “(Lopez), sole occupant of the vehicle, admitted to his role in the shooting incident.”

Lopez is facing a charge of capital murder, according to police.

Investigators haven’t said what may have motivated the shooting.

This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 1:08 PM with the headline "Two friends, 68 and 74, shot dead on daily walk, Texas cops say. Man arrested."