An Arlington father may finally find some closure after his TikTok videos lead police to a suspect in his son’s murder.
Luis Carlos Laguna Sr. spent months posting dozens of videos about his son’s murder on TikTok, with many wracking up tens of thousands of views.
@biglos7883 So I’m putting this video out in hopes that the person or persons involved in my sons shooting see this and come forward. If the guilt of what happened isn’t enough for them to come forward then maybe this will. The reward is coming up to $5,000, hoping this can change one of their minds. Please share this video over and over so we can get as much exposure as we can for Carlitos. I know this won’t bring him back but at least we can have some type of closure. #gonetoosoon #forever19 #restinpeace #luiscarloslaguna #justiceforcarlitos #missyouson #loveyoualways #nivel #haciendabanuelos #grupofrontera #pesopluma #xavi #laenergianorteña #ranchparty #reward #unsolved #unsolvedcasefiles #gunviolenceawareness???
The effort to track down the person who fatally shot 19-year-old Luis Carlos Laguna Jr. — Carlos, or “Carlitos,” as Luis calls him — finally paid off.
@biglos7883 Major news with Carlitos’ case!!! Thank You Jesus!!! #gonetoosoon #forever19 #restinpeace #luiscarloslaguna #justiceforcarlitos #missyouson #loveyoualways #prouddad #happy #soyoung #lovedtodance #alwaysdancing #siblings #bigbrother #littlesister #losingachild #losingason #bestfriends #alwayshangingout #alwaystogether
Martin Ramirez-Lopez, 20, was arrested by Fort Worth police earlier this month on murder charges. A detective called the Laguna family with news of the arrest but did not reveal many details due to the case still being built.
“He said the TikTok videos did it,” Luis said, per Fox 4 KDFW. “He said someone saw the videos and came forward with information.”
Carlos was fatally shot inside his truck while waiting to leave a parking lot on Northwest 35th Street at around 2 a.m. after a ranch concert in Fort Worth on November 18, 2023. That evening, Carlos and his friends had reportedly argued with another group of concert attendees.
Fort Worth police believed that there had been several witnesses to Carlos’ murder, including from among the suspect’s entourage, yet no one stepped forward.
“The weeks went by. Weeks turned into months, and then still nothing,” Luis recalled, per Fox 4.
Luis turned to TikTok, posting pleas for witnesses or the perpetrator to come forward and videos memorializing his son, recalling special events such as his prom or first shave.
@biglos7883 So these are always the hardest videos for me to watch because he was just so young and of course at the time we thought he had his whole life ahead of him. But seeing him want to spend time with me, wanting me to show him how to shave and copy what I do makes me feel so good. And the way he looks at me, the way a son should look up to his dad ? i love these older memories. #gonetoosoon #forever19 #restinpeace #luiscarloslaguna #justiceforcarlitos #missyouson #loveyoualways #prouddad #happy #soyoung #lovedtodance #alwaysdancing #siblings #bigbrother #littlesister #losingachild #losingason #bestfriends #firstshave #shaving
“I felt that was the only way I could do justice for him because there was nothing I could do to protect him. As a father, that really hurts me. Because a father should be there to protect his family,” Luis told Fox 4.
Ramirez-Lopez was still in police custody instead of a $500,000 bond as of the publication date.
Fort Worth police have been laboring under a significant staffing shortage, with approximately 200 vacancies reported by Assistant Police Chief Robert Alldredge last November. He explained to City of Fort Worth leaders that these shortages were impacting several areas, including the violent crime unit, per NBC 5 DFW.
Similarly, the Dallas Police Department has been strapped for officers, with only 3,000 fielded despite a City analysis recommending closer to 4,000. City leaders also allocated far fewer tax dollars to police than their counterparts in the other high-crime jurisdictions, approving a DPD budget of just $654 million this fiscal year.
