'He died too young'

In January 2023, Zechariah Trevino, 17, was shot and killed in front of a Whataburger restaurant in Fort Worth. His loss sent his family members into a spiral including his mother, Erica Silva, and girlfriend Corina Camacho, who was pregnant with their son at the time. With the family grieving their loss, the birth of Trevino's son Zech, 1, has given the family hope that his memory will live on through him.

Erica Silva, the mother of the late Zechariah Trevino, holds her grandson Zechariah Emilio next the urn of his father at his first birthday party at Corina Camacho’s Aunt’s house in Newark on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Trevino, Silva’s son and the father of baby Zech, was killed after being shot multiple times outside of a Whataburger stemming from a social media dispute in January 2023.

It’s hot out, mid-September in North Texas. The sun is beating onto an open field, which is peppered right now with the ornaments of a party. Folding tables covered in plastic tablecloths. A cooler of drinks nearby. A blow-up bouncy slide, purple and towering, with a water-filled pool at the bottom.

Erica Silva made the 90-minute drive from Oklahoma and brought her 17-year-old son Zechariah Trevino with her. She carried him out in a silver urn, adorned with necklaces — one with a cross on it, another with a “Z” pendant.

Erica wanted Zechariah here, at the birthday party for the son he never met.

It’s been over a year and a half since a social media feud erupted into gunfire outside a Whataburger restaurant where Zechariah worked, across the street from Fort Worth’s Paschal High School. Zechariah was killed; his cousin, Mia Dominguez, was wounded. Three teen boys were eventually sentenced, two of them with more than decade-long imprisonments.

In the wake of that violence in January 2023, all of the families involved have struggled to make sense of the world they now live in. Mia spent days in the hospital and was left with a scar across her abdomen. Zechariah’s girlfriend gave birth to his son and now works two jobs to support her and her baby. And Erica has trudged through waves of grief that are painfully familiar to her, echoing the shooting death of Zechariah’s father years ago.

Mia Dominguez and her cousin, Zechariah Trevino, were shot outside of a Whataburger restaurant in January 2023 over a dispute that started on Instagram. Trevino was killed and Dominguez spent days in the hospital. She was left with a scar across her abdomen.

The fight started on social media.

Mia Dominguez posted an Instagram story referencing her older sister Brisa, who had overdosed and died in 2022. Mia partially blamed one of the boys with her sister that day. Zechariah shared his cousin’s post on his own Instagram account, Mia said.

Later, Zechariah and Mia walked from Paschal High School to the Whataburger on West Berry Street to pick up Zechariah’s paycheck. They were waiting for a ride when two cars pulled up.

Daniel Reed fired the first shot, hitting Mia once in the stomach. Isaiah Nunez then shot Mia again and also shot and killed Zechariah. The two shooters and the victims were all 17 years old.

Mia Dominguez shows the surgery scar as a result of a bullet wound she suffered in the abdomen. Dominguez, along with her cousin Zechariah Trevino, were shot outside of a Whataburger restaurant in January 2023 stemming from a social media conflict. Trevino was killed and Dominguez spent days in the hospital and was left with a scar across her abdomen.

Mia Dominguez wears a ring with a finger print from her late sister, who died from an overdose. A social media feud over Dominguez’s sisters death led to a shooting outside of a Whataburger restaurant in January 2023.

The shooting, and the surgery afterward, left Mia with a scar that runs nearly down the center of her torso. Her belly button ring — once centered — now looks slightly off-center.

Much of Zechariah’s side of their family blames Mia for the shooting. In the aftermath, Mia and Zechariah’s extended family ruptured. Corina Camacho, who was Zechariah’s girlfriend and is the mother of his child, has aligned with Erica, Zechariah’s mother.

Corina Camacho is reflected on glass as she plays with her son Zechariah Emilio at her apartment in Fort Worth on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Zechariah Trevino, the father of Emilio and the late boyfriend of Camacho, was shot and killed outside of a Whataburger restaurant in January 2023 while Camacho was pregnant with their son.

When Corina looks at her infant son, she sees traces of Zechariah.

Corina recently turned 20. She has survived the last year and a half by focusing on her pregnancy and the birth of Zechariah Emilio, whom she calls Emilio. He has been the center of her world, her lighthouse in an ocean of grief and pain.

“I don’t think you can ever heal from losing somebody, you can’t ever fully heal,” she said. The “three boys definitely shot me, even though they didn’t physically, they definitely shot me.”

Corina Camacho kisses her son Zechariah Emilio at her apartment in Fort Worth on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Zechariah Trevino, the father of Emilio and the late boyfriend of Camacho, was shot and killed outside of a Whataburger restaurant in January 2023 while Camacho was pregnant with their son forcing her to raise him on her own.

Salillian Parker, the mother of Daniel Reed, is photographed in her home in Fort Worth on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Reed was one of the two boys who fired gunshots at Mia Dominguez and Zechariah Trevino in front of the Whataburger restaurant on January 2023. Parker doesn’t condone what her son did, but she’s angry at whoever provided him with a gun.

Salillian Parker isn’t apologizing for her son’s role in the shooting.

Her son, Daniel, is the one who shot Mia in the stomach. Daniel’s plea deal sent him to prison for 13 years.

Salillian doesn’t condone what her son did. She’s angry at whoever provided Daniel and Isaiah access to guns — she said her son never told her where he got the gun — and she knows Daniel messed up. But her son didn’t kill Zechariah.

Salillian Parker, the mother of Daniel Reed, shows photos of her sons in a photo book at her home in Fort Worth on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.Reed was one of the two boys who fired gunshots at Mia Dominguez and Zechariah Trevino in front of the Whataburger restaurant on January 2023. Parker doesn’t condone what her son did, but she’s angry at whoever provided him with a gun.

The shooting — and the fallout — took a toll on Salillian.

Salillian’s son has just begun his 13-year prison sentence, which means he may not be home until he’s past 30. The sentence still hits Salillian as an injustice.

Through daily eMessages and occasional calls, she can tell that her son is settled. He has a routine, he’s in school, he’s eating better.

When he started feeling better, so did Salillian.

“Knowing that I can see my son, hear his voice, and he will come back to me one day, that keeps me stable, because there are some mothers that won’t ever get their child back,” she said.

Salillian Parker, the mother of Daniel Reed, waters her plants by the window in the living room of her home in Fort Worth on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Parker’s son was sentenced to prison for 13 years for his involvement in the shooting. Shortly after he was sentenced, Salillian cried throughout the day and was barely sleeping. Now that her son is settled, she has begun to help herself as well.

Now, Corina works two jobs, one in the morning and one in the evening, to pay for her apartment and bills.

Erica feels disconnected — no one’s fault, just a byproduct of Zechariah being gone — and doesn’t always feel at home during events for the baby.

Erica Silva, the mother of the late Zechariah Trevino, holds her grandson Zechariah Emilio, 1, at his first birthday party at Corina Camacho’s Aunt’s house in Newark on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Trevino, Silva’s son and the father of baby Zech, was killed after being shot multiple times outside of a Whataburger stemming from a social media dispute in January 2023. Camacho, who was Trevino’s girlfriend at the time, was pregnant with baby Zech and now has to raise him on her own with the help of Silva and her family.

Everything seems to be okay, but that’s just the thing, Erica says as she retells the story. It wasn’t okay. Zechariah wasn’t okay.

At the birthday party, Erica’s grandson screams in her arms. She passes him off to a family member. She takes a sip of her Coke. Later, Corina will gather her family and friends around a Luca-themed cake, and they’ll sing happy birthday. Corina will take a scoop of icing and hold it to her baby boy’s lips.

And Zechariah, forever 17, will watch from inside a photo frame as his son turns 1.

Mia Dominguez wears a ring with a finger print from her late sister, who died from an overdose. A social media feud over Dominguez’s sisters death led to a shooting outside of a Whataburger restaurant in January 2023.

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