SAN MARCOS, Calif. (KGTV) - A grieving mother is in search of answers a week after her teenage son and his friend were gunned down outside a park in San Marcos.
“My son is a beautiful person. He has a big heart,” said Marcelina Garcia.
A week later, Garcia says her own heart can't be mended.
"I'm not okay,” said a tearful Garcia.
Last Wednesday afternoon, her 19-year-old son Jesus and good friend Nick Tiefer, 20, left her San Marcos home around 1:20 p.m., headed to their neighborhood park on West Borden Road near North Las Posas Road. Jesus was behind the wheel of his SUV.
“He usually goes to the park to run, to play soccer, basketball,” said Garcia.
Investigators say some 10 minutes later, shots rang out near the park entrance.
Tiefer was found in the passenger seat with a gunshot wound in the neck. Loved ones say he passed away at a hospital the following day.
Jesus was found outside the SUV with a gunshot wound in the chest. He was rushed to a hospital where he later died.
“I don't know how I live. I don't have any more my son,” said Garcia.
Garcia says her son was kind, generous, and a sports lover. He played volleyball at San Marcos High School before he graduated last year. He was planning on enrolling at Palomar College in hopes of becoming an auto mechanic.
Garcia can't comprehend the violence that claimed her son's life.
“Jesus and Nick are good boys, I don't know what happened … I don't understand what happened,” said Garcia.
Garcia is appealing to the public for help to find her son's killer.
“Jesus needs justice to rest in peace,” said Garcia.
Detectives have not released any suspect information. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Sheriff Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330 or after hours at (858) 565-5200. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help the family with funeral and other expenses.
