Ryan Romero was a 15-year-old Hispanic/Latino student at Bel Air High School in El Paso who was remembered by family as kind and funny. Loved ones held a vigil at Ralph Cloud Park after his death, wearing shirts with his picture and releasing balloons in his honor.

In the early morning hours of April 16, 2023, Ryan attended a large desert party near Batavia Street in Horizon City with more than 200 people. Court documents say an argument broke out between Ryan, his friend, and another group. Investigators were told Ryan had been carrying a fake handgun with a light and laser attachment in his waistband and that he and his friend were arguing with others. As the party was ending, Ryan reportedly lifted his shirt to show the fake gun and someone else produced a real handgun and fired several rounds.

El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at 1:33 a.m. and found Ryan not breathing in the passenger seat of a vehicle; he was transported to University Medical Center and pronounced dead. A 17-year-old girl, Delilah Daniela Valenzuela, suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to her head and was found in the driver’s seat of a nearby vehicle. If anyone attended that party or has information about the shooting, please share what is known.