Feud Between Migrant Families Ends in Gunfire, Three Dead in Indiana

A feud between two families from Honduras erupted in gunfire, resulting in three dead in a parking lot in Lawrence, Indiana, on August 19.

The three men who died, Juan Escobar, Candido Antunez, and Daniel Morales, met on a Sunday evening to renew an argument over land that had been roiling the Escobar and Antunez families before they even came to the United States from their home country of Honduras.

As several members of each family met in the eastern Indiana suburb, one of the victims attempted to be a peacemaker. Morales, 31, reportedly stepped between Escobar and Antunez to defuse the situation, according to WISH-TV. However, when the lead allegedly started flying, Morales, Antunez’s brother-in-law, fell right alongside the feuding family members who died that day.

Since he was allegedly caught in the crossfire, police have not determined who shot Morales.

Police added that Escobar and Antunez both pulled out their firearms, fired shots, and fell wounded at nearly the same instant.

Escobar had repeatedly warned police that he feared for his life and reportedly filed three police reports against Antunez.

Police arrested family members Santos Alfaro-Escobar and Justo Antunez-Escobar, who both allegedly fled the scene of the shooting.

There may have also been a love triangle element to the shooting. Members of the Antunez family said that Miguel Antunez, who was at the shootout, was having an affair with Juan Escobar’s former girlfriend and mother of his child.

Federal immigration authorities have placed the two arrested men on an immigration hold to prevent them from being released from prison and disappearing.

According to WTHR-TV, surveillance video taken that night reveals nearly a dozen shots being fired between the two families.

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