Wedding horror as groom, 32, is shot in the head during his reception as masked gunmen storm venue and demand guests empty their pockets
- Manuel Gonzalez was shot by masked gunmen during his wedding reception
- Police are still investigating Friday night’s shooting
A couple’s wedding night turned into a horror show after the groom was shot in the head by a masked gunman.
Dulce and Manuel Gonzalez were finally set to marry Friday night after a decade and two children together, KSDK reports.
The evening went smoothly and 50 family members celebrated the couple’s marriage in the backyard of their St. Louis, Missouri home until the early hours.
But just before 1 a.m. on Saturday, two masked gunmen entered the party through the gate of the bride and her sister’s driveway, according to Fox 2 Now.
The attackers shouted for no one to move and demanded money from the wedding guests, brandishing their weapons as a threat.
Dulce and Manuel Gonzalez’s wedding Friday night turned into a horror when two masked gunmen shot the husband in the head
According to police, one of the men then began searching through the guests’ pockets, while the other stood behind the 32-year-old groom and shot him several times in the head.
The men then fled without taking any of the family’s belongings or money.
“They didn’t take anything, but they took everything from us,” the bride’s sister, Yaribeth Pena, told Fox 2, as her new brother-in-law remains in critical condition at a local hospital.
The family said they saw signs of hope when Manuel moved his hands.
“He’s fighting for his life,” Pena said. “We hope he survives.”
The couple finally married on Friday after more than a decade and two children together
Pena added that her sister is now “upset, depressed and sad” as police continue to investigate the shooting.
“They said my brother-in-law wanted to steal his wallet, and maybe they thought he wanted to steal a gun,” Pena suggested.
She says she now worries about the safety of her family in the city’s Dutchtown neighborhood.
“I feel like we have to move to feel comfortable,” she told KSDK, pleading with the community to help her family find the suspects, who she believes are teenagers.
The suspects fled on foot after the shooting, without any money or family belongings.
A online fundraising was also set up to help the family with expenses, including medical bills and the loss of Manuel’s income. As of Monday evening, it had raised more than $12,000.
No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. Police say the investigation is ongoing.
But on Sunday afternoon, the family said investigators had not yet collected all the evidence at the crime scene and not all witnesses had been interviewed.