Do you know who killed Aluxes? Aluxes Mares, a 20-year-old woman from Houston, Texas, was killed on August 20, 2017, during an apparent shootout outside Chula’s Sports Cantina, a popular restaurant in northwest Houston. Aluxes had been celebrating her birthday with friends when an argument that began inside the restaurant spilled into the parking lot. Multiple gunmen opened fire, and Aluxes, along with her friend James Butanda, was struck.
Aluxes was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead, while Butanda was left critically injured. Investigators believe there may have been as many as three shooters involved in the incident, and that Aluxes was likely caught in the crossfire during the chaotic scene.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the investigation was complicated by Hurricane Harvey, which struck the region just days later. Aluxes’s family believes that the arrival of the hurricane diverted attention from the case and negatively impacted the progress of the investigation. Despite the Houston Police Department releasing surveillance photos of three individuals wanted for questioning, no significant breakthroughs have occurred, and no arrests have been made in the years since. Aluxes’s family continues to plead for justice, marking each passing year without answers as they call for anyone with information to come forward.
The homicide remains unsolved, and the Mares family, along with the Houston Police Department, has appealed to the public for any leads that could help bring closure to her case. Aluxes’s uncle, Rolando Mares, expressed the family’s ongoing anguish, noting that their only hope is for justice and accountability for her tragic death. Anyone with information is urged to contact Houston police or Crime Stoppers.
