In the early morning hours of September 12, 2026, a gathering of young people at Tom Lea Upper Park in El Paso, Texas, turned tragically violent, leaving two 20-year-old men dead from gunshot wounds. The victims were identified as Joshua Michael Himes and Francisco Javier Ignacio. Police responded to reports of gunfire at the park, located on Rim Road, at approximately 3:39 a.m. and discovered the two men lying in the roadway. Both Himes and Ignacio were pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators determined that the victims had been at the park with several other individuals, and that the shooting stemmed from an altercation that erupted between the victims and another group.
The investigation into the double homicide was a collaborative effort involving the El Paso Police Department's Crimes Against Persons Unit, its Gang Unit, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Texas Rangers. Their efforts led to the identification and arrest of three suspects within six days of the shooting. On September 18, 2026, authorities took 17-year-old Manuel Canedo and 19-year-old Jose Emmanuel Saldana, both from Fort Hancock, Texas, into custody. Also arrested was 20-year-old Jesus Ivan Lopez of El Paso. All three individuals were charged with capital murder.
Following their arrests, Canedo, Saldana, and Lopez were booked into the El Paso County jail. The charge of capital murder in Texas is reserved for the most serious homicide cases, and a conviction can carry a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. While the swift arrests brought a sense of progress in the case, details regarding a specific motive for the altercation and the subsequent shooting have not been publicly released by law enforcement. The case against the three suspects highlights the tragic consequences of violence that cut short the lives of Joshua Michael Himes and Francisco Javier Ignacio. As of the latest available information, the legal proceedings following the arrests, including any trials, convictions, or sentencing, have not been detailed in public records.
