‘That innocent kid opens the door and ends up dying’ Thanksgiving night

A 14-year-old boy died overnight after he was shot while answering the door at his house on Henton Road in Lexington, according to authorities and a family friend.

Investigators identified a potential person of interest in the case by Friday afternoon, Lexington police spokeswoman Brenna Angel said. Sheriff’s deputies in Putnam County, W.Va., later told WKYT that they arrested Kevin Garcia, 23, during a traffic stop on Interstate 64, and held him in connection with a murder Thursday in Lexington.

Garcia was being held without bond in West Virginia on Friday night, according to jail records.

Angel Juarez died at 11:29 p.m. Thursday at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.

“You can’t even open your door, it’s crazy,” family friend Sharon Byrd said. “That innocent kid opens the door and ends up dying.”

Police were called to the house at 10:50 p.m. on Thanksgiving; officers found Angel with multiple gunshots to his upper torso, Lt. David Biroschik said.

“He was an outgoing kid, everybody knew him,” Byrd said. “He was always playing basketball in the neighborhood, always smiling.”

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday, according to the coroner’s office.

The house where the shooting occurred sits off West Main Street not far from the Lexington Cemetery.

Neighbors in the Henton Road area are a close-knit community, and they were shaken by Angel’s death and how he died, Byrd said. In 10 years living on the street, she can’t remember anything similar happening.

“There are a lot of kids and we all try to look out for one another,” Byrd said.

This story was originally published November 25, 2016 at 6:20 AM with the headline "‘That innocent kid opens the door and ends up dying’ Thanksgiving night."