Eliel Omar Bultron Hernandez was a 19-year-old Hispanic/Latino male who had graduated from Options High School in El Paso, Texas. In the wake of his death, his mother, Elizabeth Hernandez, remembered her son as a "victim of armed violences" as she sought help for his funeral expenses.
On September 17, 2023, Eliel attended a homecoming after-party held at a short-term rental house on the 12300 block of Tierra Inca Drive in far east El Paso.
The party, organized by high school students, grew out of control. Around 1 a.m., gunfire erupted when someone fired multiple shots into the crowd of partygoers. Eliel died at the scene. Another teenager, 14-year-old Julia Worthington, was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries days later. Four other teens, ranging in age from 16 to 19, were also wounded in the shooting but survived.
Investigators learned the shooting stemmed from a feud between two young men, Angel Avila and David Caldera. According to court documents, Avila believed Caldera had shot at him during a prior incident. On the night of the party, Avila arrived and saw Caldera there, allegedly telling a friend there was "going to be a shooting." Avila reportedly opened fire on Caldera, who returned fire. Both men were wounded in the exchange. After the shooting, a friend drove Avila to a hospital and later led detectives to a spot in the desert where a gun had been buried. The weapon, described as a "ghost gun" because it had no serial number, was recovered. Ballistics testing confirmed it was the gun used to kill Eliel and Julia and injure the other victims.
On November 16, 2023, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Angel Avila, then 18, on a charge of capital murder, with his bond set at $2 million. He was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility. Avila was ultimately charged with capital murder of multiple persons, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault causing paralysis.
Avila’s trial began in early February 2026. On February 5, 2026, he accepted a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to murder for the killings of Eliel Omar Bultron Hernandez and Julia Worthington and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. As part of the agreement, Avila also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault charges, receiving concurrent sentences of 20 years and another life term. The original capital murder charge was dismissed.
