Argument over roosters ends with man fatally shooting his uncle, Texas cops say

A Texas man is accused of fatally shooting his uncle during a fight over a pair of roosters, officials say.

At about 4 a.m. May 30, deputies responded to a 911 call from a home near Mission and found a man with a gunshot wound inside a bathroom, the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The man, later identified as 54-year-old Fernando Madrid, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to investigators.

Multiple family members were outside the house, including the man’s nephew and accused killer, 21-year-old Aaron Cervantes, deputies said.

Deputies learned that Cervantes came to his uncle’s home with another man in order to take back two roosters he said belonged to him.

Before he could leave with the roosters, his uncle confronted him and the two men began arguing about who owns the birds, officials said. At some point during the fight, Cervantes shot Madrid with a handgun, killing him, according to the sheriff’s office.

Cervantes was arrested and jailed on a charge of murder, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies released the man Cervantes arrived with, as it was determined he didn’t commit any crimes.

Jail records show Cervantes’ bond has been set at $2 million.

An investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office at 956-383-8114.

Mission is a roughly 250-mile drive south from San Antonio.