Teen and His Buddy Fired Nearly 100 Bullets into Apartment of Romantic Rival, but Killed the Wrong Man: Cops

A Texas teen’s belief that his girlfriend was cheating on him led to a tragic and deadly shooting in Houston, leaving one man dead and another injured. Fernando Amaya, 17, and his friend Christopher Portillo Luna, 17, are now facing charges of murder and other offenses in connection with the death of 41-year-old Marcos Cotto Torres. The shooting, which took place on March 18 in west Houston, has left the community shaken and highlighted the consequences of unchecked rage and mistaken assumptions.

The Deadly Encounter

The incident occurred just before 1 a.m. when Houston police responded to a report of a shooting at an apartment complex. Upon arriving, officers found two men suffering from gunshot wounds. One victim, identified as Marcos Cotto Torres, was unresponsive and later pronounced dead at the scene. He had been shot in the back of the head and other parts of his body. The second victim, who was not the intended target, sustained a gunshot wound to his buttocks and was rushed to the hospital for medical treatment. Investigators learned from a resident of the apartment that Amaya’s girlfriend, a minor, was dating him but had allegedly been cheating on him with another man who lived in the apartment. While the alleged romantic rival escaped unharmed, the shooting ended in the tragic death of Torres, an innocent bystander who was not involved in the conflict.

The Aftermath and Arrests

According to police, Amaya had previously threatened to shoot up the apartment and then take his own life, a statement his girlfriend later confirmed to detectives. True to his word, Amaya and Portillo Luna allegedly arrived at the apartment complex, armed with an AK-style rifle. Surveillance footage showed the two teens fleeing the scene in a white SUV, which belonged to a family member of one of the suspects. At the scene, investigators recovered 84 spent shell casings, indicating the violent nature of the shooting. Local ABC affiliate KTRK captured images of the apartment complex showing boarded-up windows and walls riddled with bullet holes.

Amaya was arrested just hours after the shooting, and Portillo Luna was taken into custody later that week on March 21. Both teens are currently being held on bonds exceeding $1 million each. The tragic events have left the community and the victims’ families grappling with the consequences of the deadly shooting, which was fueled by jealousy and a mistaken belief. Their next court appearance is scheduled for April 29. The case serves as a grim reminder of the dangerous effects of unchecked emotions and violent threats.