Madeline May Pendon, a 17-year-old girl from San Antonio, Texas, tragically passed away on April 20, 2020. She was born on August 12, 2002, to Dr. Joseph David Pendon and Dr. Rebecca May Wilson in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Madeline, affectionately known as Maddie, attended St. Luke's Episcopal School and Alamo Heights High School. She was a beloved member of her community, known for her kind and loving spirit.
On the evening of April 20, 2020, Madeline was sitting in the front
passenger seat of an SUV when she was shot. The incident occurred around 7:40 p.m. in the 8100 block of Broadway Street in San Antonio. According to reports, Madeline screamed that she had been shot, and the vehicle pulled over to the back of a business at the intersection of Ridgecrest Drive and Broadway. When officers arrived, they found Madeline lying on her abdomen with a gunshot wound to her torso. She was immediately taken to University Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries an hour later. The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office ruled her death a homicide.
The suspect in Madeline's death was identified as Eleazar Jacob Flores, a 20-year-old man who was in the vehicle with her at the time of the shooting. Flores was charged with manslaughter and possession of a controlled substance. According to court documents, Flores was sitting directly behind Madeline in the SUV when the gun went off. Witnesses reported that Madeline yelled, "You shot me!" to Flores before she died. Flores allegedly apologized and claimed he did not know the gun was loaded. The driver of the vehicle punched Flores in the face, and Flores subsequently fled the scene with the gun. Despite initially calling 911, Flores and the other person in the vehicle were not cooperative with investigators.
The investigation into Madeline's death revealed that there was no evidence of a shot being fired from outside the SUV, leading authorities to believe that the gunshot originated from within the vehicle. The case remains under investigation, and no additional details have been released regarding the circumstances that led to the shooting. Madeline's tragic death has left her family, friends, and community in mourning, as they remember the vibrant young girl whose life was cut short.
