In the early morning hours of February 15, 2026, a young Venezuelan man, Diego Andres Lopez-Urdaneta, was found unresponsive in his Dodge pickup truck which had veered into a ditch off the 300 block of University Boulevard in Bowling Green, Kentucky. A Western Kentucky University Police Department officer who had stopped to check on the driver discovered that Lopez-Urdaneta had sustained a gunshot wound to his head.
He was immediately transported to TriStar Skyline Medical Center in Nashville for medical attention. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on February 16, 2026. The initial investigation, which began as an inquiry into an armed robbery, was quickly escalated to a homicide case following his death.
The events that led to the tragic shooting began to unfold after an apparent confrontation outside of Club Havana on St. Charles Street. Investigators, through the review of multiple security cameras in the area, were able to piece together a timeline of the events that followed the altercation. Video footage showed a black Nissan Rogue pursuing Lopez-Urdaneta's truck for several minutes. The chase wound through various streets, including Russellville Road, University Boulevard, and Old Morgantown Road. At times, the pursuing vehicle was seen traveling at high speeds, and for extended periods, it moved with its headlights turned off, seemingly in an effort to remain undetected. A friend of Lopez-Urdaneta, who was present at the nightclub, witnessed the confrontation and reported hearing a loud pop, which he believed to be a gunshot, as he attempted to approach his friend's truck.
The investigation swiftly led to the identification of two suspects. Later on the same day as the shooting, detectives located a Nissan Rogue matching the description of the suspect vehicle on Glen Lily Road. The occupants of the vehicle were detained, and Christopher Meza Ramirez, 20, of Bowling Green, was arrested. He was identified as the driver of the Nissan Rogue that pursued Lopez-Urdaneta. Initially charged with first-degree assault, the charge against Ramirez was upgraded to complicity to murder following Lopez-Urdaneta's death. A Warren District Court judge found probable cause to refer his case to a grand jury.
Through their investigation, the Bowling Green Police Department identified Bryan Aguero Lopez as the individual who allegedly fired the fatal shot from the passenger seat of the Nissan Rogue. He was apprehended in Tennessee with the assistance of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Lopez is currently awaiting extradition back to Bowling Green, where he is expected to face a charge of murder for his role in the death of Diego Andres Lopez-Urdaneta. The case has since been referred to a grand jury for further consideration.
