Investigators told Eyewitness News Otero had apparently been drinking heavily last night and got into fight with his family over a missing video game. Officers say when he loaded a gun, his 17-year-old son tried to knock it away and wound up dead.
"I'm just in shock," said family friend Angelique Merkle.
The sudden death of the teen stunned family and friends who stood comforting each other early Sunday morning, and not just over the murder of a loved one, but over the realization he may have died at his own father's hands.
"I know we love him and we tried our best and I hope that wherever he's at, he knows he'll never be forgotten," said Merkle.
Police say the family had been celebrating the birthday of a younger child and drinking when Ignacio Otero's father allegedly shot and killed him in an argument over a video game.
"It wasn't worth it," said witness Daniel Garcia.
Garcia, a longtime friend, said he was one of nearly half a dozen people who witnessed Ignacio's father pull the trigger.
"After he shot him, he told me, 'I messed up.' He told me, 'I messed up.' He just came out and started walking," said Garcia.
Homicide investigators say they found their suspect about seven hours later hiding in the closet of a friend's apartment. He is under arrest for his son's murder.
"There's a history of them arguing for whatever reasons, and this one just got out of hand," said Sgt. Bobby Roberts with the Houston Police Department homicide division.
Now a family is left to wonder why.
The victim died from a single gunshot to the neck that was fired as he tried to run away. As young as he was, the 17-year-old was about to become a father. His friends told Eyewitness News his girlfriend is pregnant with the couple's first child.
Otero is being held on $100,000 bond.
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