Luis Martin Saaredra-Silva
Luis Martin Saavedra-Silva's heart, kept beating for six days by a machine, could support him no longer. Just after noon on Wednesday the 20-year-old father of two succumbed to injuries from a gang-related shoot-out Friday night in northeast Carson City.
Both police and family agree that the handsome, curly headed man from Guadalajara was not a gang member. It appears he just got caught in the crossfire.
"He was a great father and a great husband," said friend Jennie Angel on behalf of his tearful mother-in-law, Marie. Marie asked that her last name not be used for fear of retaliation.
Saavedra-Silva didn't go out much and he didn't want to go out on Friday night, said Marie. He only went to the middle-school Halloween party on Longridge Drive to pick up his 15-year-old brother-in-law, Jiovani.
About 9:30 p.m. a barrage of shots, which investigators say came from three different guns, rang out amidst the $300,000 homes. When it was over, Saavedra-Silva was in a puddle of blood on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his temple. Another man, Israel Ralla, 24, was taken by friends to the hospital with wounds to his chest, arm and ankle. He is expected to survive.
Jiovani is racked with guilt.
"He only came because of me," he said as tears rolled down his cheeks on the night of the shooting.
Just minutes before, Jiovani was one of dozens of middle-school students attending a Halloween party that had been invaded by gang members. Now, nearly a week later, two children have no father and a family is reeling from the senselessness of gang violence.
Saavedra-Silva was a "good guy," Marie said. "A really, really nice guy who tried to do everything for his family."
He earned what he could working construction, but sometimes it wasn't enough, Angel said. She cried as she remembered his determination to get coats for his 2-year-old daughter and 9-month-old son, or seeing him walking with his family.
"I tried to help as much as I could," she said.
Marie said she liked him immediately when her daughter Nancy brought him home.
"He was real sincere and he treated Nancy so nice," she said.
By the time Saavedra-Silva's parents got visas and made it to Reno to see him, he was dead. Angel said the family's grief is compounded by the stress of wondering how to bury him, where to bury him, and how to pay for that.
She and Marie were hoping the community would help.
"The gang members should stop what they are doing because they hurt innocent people," said Marie. "It could happen to anyone."
Several homes have been searched during the investigation, but no arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 887-2008 or Secret Witness at 322-4900. Secret Witness is offering a $2,500 reward.
• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.
You can help:
To help the family of Luis Martin Saavedra-Silva pay for his funeral, donations may be made to Greater Nevada Credit Union, acct. no. 5830970000834449.