Gabriel Michael Zazueta, a 20-year-old man from Huntington, West Virginia, was fatally shot during the early morning hours of Sunday, July 13, 2025. Shortly after midnight, Huntington police were called to the 1100 block of 4th Avenue following reports of gunfire in a parking lot. Officers arriving in the downtown area found that two people had been wounded. Both were taken by Cabell County EMS to a nearby hospital, where Zazueta died from his injuries.
The other person survived and was reported to be in stable condition in the initial coverage of the shooting.
The shooting brought a substantial police response to 4th Avenue. Portions of the roadway were blocked, police tape was placed around the area, and investigators began processing the scene while detectives worked to determine what had led to the gunfire. Huntington Police Chief Phil Watkins later publicly identified Zazueta as the person who had been killed and said detectives and forensic investigators were actively investigating the death as a homicide. Police described the incident as apparently isolated and said they did not believe there was a continuing threat to the general public. Authorities did not publicly explain what preceded the shooting, identify a motive, or provide further details about the circumstances involving the second person who was wounded.
Zazueta was born on August 13, 2004, and had grown up in the Huntington area. His obituary described him as a 2022 graduate of Cabell Midland High School who later attended Marshall University. He was working for UPS as a loader and package handler and reportedly hoped to eventually become a driver. Family and friends remembered him as affectionate, loyal, hardworking and humorous, someone who regularly told the people close to him that he loved them and was known for giving hugs and showing up for friends and relatives. His funeral was held on July 25, 2025, following visitation the previous evening, with burial arrangements at Woodmere Memorial Park.
The initial investigation did not result in an immediate arrest. On the day of the shooting, police specifically reported that no arrests had been made and asked anyone with information to contact the Huntington Police Department tip line. When police provided additional information the following day, they still did not name a shooter, person of interest, or suspect. Chief Watkins said the homicide investigation remained underway, while the department withheld additional investigative details.
Subsequent publicly searchable reporting located for the case does not identify an arrest, criminal charge, named suspect, trial, or conviction connected to Zazueta's killing. Searches of later Huntington-area crime reporting through August 2026 produced coverage of other homicide arrests but no reported breakthrough attributed to the July 13, 2025 shooting of Zazueta. As a result, there is no publicly reported suspect who can reliably be identified in connection with his death from the available sources, and there are no known charges or court proceedings to describe. The last substantive law-enforcement information located continues to characterize the case as a homicide investigation for which police were seeking information from the public.
