Five teenagers – all members of a group Albuquerque police called increasingly dangerous as their crimes around the city escalated – have been charged with murder in the death of a carpenter and church deacon who was run down in September as he tried to stop them from stealing his work van. Hector Aguirre was hanging onto the windshield wipers of his van as five of the teens tried to make off with it one morning in September, according to court records. Aguirre didn’t let go until one of them pointed a gun at him. But then, instead of fleeing the scene in the van, the teens made one more move. They put the van in reverse and mowed him down, according to a close family friend of Aguirre’s. Aguirre, a father of three boys, was in a coma and held on for nearly two months but he died Nov. 9 at a local hospital. On Monday, Albuquerque police announced the arrests in Aguirre’s death. The teens – ranging in age from 15 to 19 – all face open counts of murder, said police spokesman Fred Duran. …Aguirre was a deacon at the San Jose Parish near Broadway and Gibson, where his wife taught catechism. Together they were raising three boys, ages 13, 15 and 20, according to fellow deacon Raul Talavera. “He was an outgoing person, very friendly, very humble,” Talavera said. “He would give the shirt off his back to anybody, always smiling, always had a smile.” He said the family was relieved to hear that arrests had been made but are working to forgive the suspects. “They don’t have hatred against these persons,” Talavera said. “But they will pray for them as a community.”
The newspaper also reports a fund has been set up for Deacon Aguirre’s family:
Donations to Aguirre’s family can be made at any Wells Fargo bank. The account is #1075556249 under the name Alam Aguirre Valenzuela.
Remember this man and his family in your prayers—and pray, as well, for these teenagers.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him…
And today we celebrate...