It's been a week since 24-year-old Andy Rangel was shot to death outside a gas station on Polk St. south of I-20 in Dallas. The family plans to lay him to rest on Tuesday and had to wait due to financial constraints.
"Nobody is prepared to die, especially when it’s a young person, this was not planned, we all need help when it comes to that," said Camila Jaimes, a cousin of Rangel.
On Sunday, the family held a cookout in the Pleasant Grove area to help raise money to pay for funeral and burial costs.
"It’s been the worst week ever," said Jaimes.
"It’s difficult because this is the first tragedy that hits my family, on my side of the family, to the core. Our grandparents are still alive, and it’s really hard to deal with because for someone to take somebody else's life, it’s just the worst."
Jaimes helped coordinate the large cookout on Sunday that was made up of donated food from extended family and the community. It included tacos, flautas, enchiladas and other traditional dishes of Rangel's family background that people could buy.
"Food is our love language. We’re from Mexico, we’re from Guerrero. Everybody cooks, everybody brings their favorite dish and we feed our family, to gather, to talk to our family members, to kind of take our minds off of what’s really going on but also doing a cause and helping out with funeral expenses," explained Jaimes.
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The shooting happened last weekend on Saturday, the eve of Easter when Rangel was outside a gas station. Police didn't specify what led up to the shooting, but the unknown suspect took off. Rangel died at the hospital.
"Dallas, that night that he passed, there were 7 or 8 shootings that night. It’s ridiculous that we can’t even go to the gas station without fearing for our lives," said Jaimes.
“Gun violence, now it’s horrible in Dallas, everywhere in this world I think, that’s why we need to figure out gun violence. We have to make a stop to this, it’s getting out of control.
Dallas PD said the suspected shooter was last seen getting into a 2006 or 2007 Buick Rendezvous being driven by a female.
DPD released a composite sketch of the shooter and surveillance video of the getaway car.
"Family is our everything and that person that murdered my cousin, does not know that, he had so many people that loved him and we are going to miss him tremendously," said Jaimes.
"I'm ready to lay him to rest, and find the person that did this to him.”
The family said they raised about $5,000 earlier in the week from a bake sale and hope the cookout fundraiser will bring in more money.
Jaimes said the funeral is expected to cost around $15,000.
