In the early hours of August 4, 2019, a tragic event unfolded in Wichita, Kansas, that cut short the life of 17-year-old Hispanic male, Ramiro Antonio Valdez Jr. Just before the start of his senior year at North High School, where he was expected to graduate in 2020, Valdez was killed in what police described as a shooting stemming from an ongoing gang feud.
The young man, who also worked as a landscaper, was driving his blue 2003 Chevrolet Silverado eastbound on Central at approximately 2:35 a.m. when a black pickup truck began to pursue him. Inside the Silverado with Valdez were two other teenagers who would witness the fatal attack.
As the black pickup pulled alongside Valdez's truck, an occupant opened fire with a rifle, striking the teenager. Although he was rushed to a local hospital, Ramiro Valdez succumbed to a gunshot wound to his back. The two other teens in his vehicle were not injured in the shooting. The incident was not a random act of violence, according to Wichita police, but rather a targeted attack connected to a two-year-long feud between rival gangs. Authorities noted that many of the individuals involved in the incident were documented gang members or had ties to gangs.
The investigation into Valdez's death led to the identification of multiple suspects. Eighteen-year-old Eduardo Gallardo was arrested on the same day as the shooting on suspicion of first-degree murder. He was later released from jail before being arrested again after formal charges were filed. Two other individuals, 20-year-old Jesus Alvarez-Medina and an unnamed juvenile, were also charged with first-degree murder, criminal discharge of a firearm, and aggravated assault in connection with the fatal shooting. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Alvarez-Medina.
In the years following the shooting, the legal process moved forward for one of the accused. Eduardo Gallardo eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, criminal discharge of a firearm, and aggravated assault on March 27, 2023. On June 1, 2023, a Sedgwick County District Court judge sentenced Gallardo, then 22, to 18 years and 10 months in prison for his role in the death of Ramiro Valdez. The judge also ordered him to pay $6,500 in restitution.
