On the afternoon of Sunday, December 21, 2025, first responders in Henderson, Texas, were alerted to a violent incident unfolding at a busy roadway. Doris Morales-Ruiz, a 39-year-old Hispanic female, was navigating her vehicle near the intersection of FM 225 South and Highway 79 South when she was targeted by gunfire. Multiple 911 calls flooded into the Henderson Police Department around 1:00 p.m., reporting that a woman had been shot while sitting inside her car.
Officers arrived at the scene to find the victim suffering from critical gunshot wounds. She was immediately transported to a local hospital for urgent medical treatment, fighting for her life as law enforcement secured the area and began their investigation.
Despite the efforts of medical personnel, the severity of the injuries proved fatal. While the attack occurred on Sunday, authorities confirmed that Morales-Ruiz succumbed to her wounds and passed away on Monday, December 22, 2025. Following her death, Smith County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Andy Dunklin formally pronounced her deceased. The tragic event shook the local community, where Morales-Ruiz was known as a dedicated mother and hard worker who had been born in Mexico and had deep ties to her family in Henderson.
As the investigation into the shooting commenced, police quickly identified a suspect believed to be responsible for the attack. Witnesses and early evidence pointed toward 50-year-old Valente Abeldano Perez, also known as Mauricio Perez, who had reportedly fled the scene in a truck immediately after the shots were fired. Law enforcement agencies, including the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office, launched a search for Perez, treating the case as an isolated incident rather than a random act of violence threatening the broader public.
The manhunt concluded later that same Sunday when authorities located the suspect in Rusk County. Perez was found deceased in a vacant lot off County Road 482. Investigators did not immediately release a cause of death for the suspect, noting that an autopsy had been ordered to determine how he died. Because the sole suspect was found dead shortly after the crime, no arrests were made, and police officials conveyed that there was no ongoing danger to the community. The Henderson Police Department and Rusk County Sheriff's Office continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding the murder-suicide scenario to bring closure to the grieving family.
