On September 8, 2024, Elias Torres, a 33-year-old resident of South Wise County, Texas, was fatally shot at a home near Paradise. The incident occurred around 4 a.m. on Private Road 3459, where Torres was reportedly in the company of his girlfriend. According to Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin, the assailant, identified as 33-year-old Jose Diaz-Martinez, entered the residence and shot Torres multiple times. Torres was airlifted to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, where he succumbed to his injuries later that afternoon.
Following the shooting, Diaz-Martinez fled the scene, prompting law enforcement to issue a Be On The Lookout (BOLO) alert for his vehicle. He was apprehended by Texas Highway Patrol officers around 8:15 a.m. on U.S. 287 near Clarendon in the Texas Panhandle and initially held in the Donley County Jail. At the time of his arrest, Diaz-Martinez faced charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of abandoning a child, as he had left his two young children, aged 2 and 6, unattended at a nearby residence following the shooting.
As the investigation progressed, the charges against Diaz-Martinez were elevated. By September 25, 2024, he was formally charged with capital murder by terror threat/other felony in connection with Torres's death. Diaz-Martinez was transferred to the Wise County Jail, where he remained in custody with a total bond set at $400,000. The Texas Rangers assisted the Wise County Sheriff's Office in the investigation, during which multiple weapons were recovered, including the firearm believed to be the murder weapon.
The tragic event also led to an Amber Alert for the two children, who were initially thought to be missing but were later found safe at a nearby home. The community mourned the loss of Elias Torres, described as a business owner and father, whose life was abruptly ended due to the violent actions of the suspect.
