Edinburg Shooting Suspect Bragged on Social Media Before Arrest, Documents Reveal

Edinburg, Texas – The suspect in a deadly shooting in Edinburg, Texas, allegedly boasted about the crime on social media before being apprehended, according to recently released documents. Mario Cordero Jr., 22, was arrested last week on a charge of murder in connection with the shooting death of 23-year-old Michael Arevalo, as announced by the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.

New details about the case have emerged from a probable cause affidavit for Cordero’s arrest. The affidavit states that deputies were dispatched to the 5600 block of Wakita Drive in Edinburg around 11 p.m. on January 10th after receiving reports of a deadly shooting. At the scene, deputies discovered multiple bullet casings on the roadway and the lifeless body of Michael Arevalo, who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

A witness informed authorities that Arevalo had been sitting outside his home when individuals wearing dark-colored hoodies arrived in front of a neighboring house and opened fire. Further investigation revealed that Arevalo had been engaged in an online argument with a man named AJ Sanchez, also known as Abel Sanchez Jr., on social media. It was later determined that at the time of the shooting, Sanchez was in custody. Witness statements indicated that Cordero had been using Sanchez’s social media account to communicate and had bragged about the shooting in a private group chat.

Phone records obtained by investigators placed Cordero in the immediate vicinity of Wakita Drive at the time of the shooting. Subsequently, a search warrant was executed at Cordero’s residence on January 12th, resulting in the recovery of physical evidence matching witness descriptions.

During interviews, Sanchez admitted to providing Cordero with access to his Facebook account so that Cordero could communicate on his behalf while Sanchez was incarcerated.

Cordero was arraigned on Thursday, and his bond was set at $2 million. In a surprising turn of events, authorities announced later that day that they were searching for a second person of interest in the case. The individual was identified as 24-year-old Efrain “Keefer” Tenopala, who is affiliated with the Sureno 13 Street Gang and hails from Edinburg.

Authorities urge anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Efrain Tenopala or any other details related to the case to come forward and assist in the ongoing investigation.