‘He had no weapons’: Dad killed in Humble as he carried daughter’s birthday cake to Chuck E. Cheese

By Mycah Hatfield

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    HUMBLE, Texas (KTRK) — A 24-year-old man was heading into a Chuck E. Cheese in Humble to celebrate his daughter’s sixth birthday when he was shot in the parking lot and later died.

The victim’s wife identified him as Calogero Duenes.

Amber Uresti said she and her 6- and 3-year-old daughters had gone inside the restaurant before her husband, who was tasked with getting the cake.

“I saw him,” Uresti said. “I saw him walking towards us. I told the lady my husband was on his way. I pointed at him, and the instant I turned around, he came running in through the door and he kept saying, ‘I got shot! I got shot!'”

Humble police obtained surveillance video they said showed Duenes’ encounter with the shooter. Police said the suspect drove the wrong way down a row of parking spaces and almost hit the victim. The video then shows the two exchange words. Moments later, a witness told police they heard three gunshots.

“He picked up his shirt and ran outside,” Uresti said. “I ran out after him. My 6-year-old saw him fall on the ground.”

Duenes was taken to the hospital where he died a short time later.

“He had no weapons,” Uresti said. “He was holding my daughter’s birthday cake. He had nothing on him. I don’t understand why.”

Uresti said she and Duenes were set to celebrate their 10th anniversary in September.

“We grew up together,” she said. “Every day for the last 10 years, it’s been me and him. I really don’t know what I’m going to do anymore. It’s really hard.”

Uresti first met Duenes in Corpus Christi when she was just 15 years old. She and their daughters went there to wait for his body, so he can be buried in his hometown.

“My daughter has been crying,” Uresti said. “She slept last night with her father’s shirt, crying until she fell asleep, and it breaks my heart. There’s nothing I can tell her. There’s no words to tell her other than, ‘Daddy is with you in your heart. He loves you.'”

Police said the shooter has not yet been caught, but there is an ongoing investigation. The suspect is believed to be driving a black Ford car.

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.

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