A Texas murder victim was able to utter the name of his best friend-turned-alleged killer in his "dying declaration" moments before he died.
Daniel Hernandez, 18, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Ricky De Los Santos, also 18, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.
On Saturday, deputies responded to reports of a shooting at De Los Santos' San Antonio, Texas, home. Deputies on the scene witnessed De Los Santos suffering from several life-threatening gunshot wounds.
"He was able to give them... a dying declaration," Salazar told reporters during a weekend press conference. "As it was believed he was going to pass from some pretty substantial wounds, he was able to give the name of a suspect to the deputy."
The declaration was allegedly captured on the deputy's body camera.
Salazar said they "don't know what caused things to go sideways" in the moments leading up to the alleged killing, but Hernandez went to meet the victim at his home – "supposedly to try on shoes" – that he was gonna buy off of him.
"It's kind of a mystery at this point what would drive this young man to kill what was probably one of his lifelong, best friends in cold blood like that," said Salazar.
Authorities suspect Hernandez used a knockoff AK-47 to kill De Los Santos.
Hernandez was subsequently arrested, but investigators are still searching for the murder weapon.
