Mineral Wells Area News

From Staff Reports

MINERAL WELLS, Texas — A 26-year-old man has been arrested after a shooting Saturday night in Mineral Wells left another man hospitalized in intensive care.

Mineral Wells Police Department dispatchers received multiple calls at approximately 10:32 p.m. Aug. 8 reporting several gunshots near the 1500 block of S.E. 21st Street.

Responding officers found a 28-year-old man who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and one gunshot wound to the leg, according to a press release issued Sunday by Mineral Wells Police Chief Tim Denison.

Officers immediately began life-saving measures, including applying a tourniquet to the man’s leg and attempting to control his bleeding until Mineral Wells Fire/EMS personnel arrived.

The victim was transported by air ambulance to a Fort Worth-area hospital, where he underwent surgery. Police said Sunday he remains in the intensive care unit.

Officers located the suspect, identified by police as Cesar Alberto Villareal, 26, at the scene and detained him.

Villareal was subsequently arrested and taken to the Mineral Wells Police Department, where he was processed on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury. He was later transported to the Palo Pinto County Jail for booking.

Investigators determined that Villareal and the victim knew each other and believe the shooting was an isolated incident.

Police said there is no indication of an ongoing threat to the public.

The Mineral Wells Police Department thanked the Texas Department of Public Safety, Palo Pinto County Sheriff’s Office and Texas State Park Police for assisting during the incident.

The investigation remains ongoing, and police said additional information will be released as it becomes available.