Teen Battered in Mugshot Claims Self-Defense After Shooting Death of Baby’s Father at Baptism: Police

Leonardo Asis Campos Torres, 19, was arrested at a home just before 12:30 a.m. on July 27, 2025 in Balch Springs, Texas after multiple witnesses identified him as the shooter, according to the Balch Springs Police Department’s arrest affidavit viewed by Fox affiliate KDFW. Cristian Gabriel Montes, 35, was found with apparent gunshot wounds at the scene.

Both men were related, according to witnesses, and were in attendance at a family event to celebrate the baptism of Montes’ son when they began to argue over Torres allegedly firing a handgun earlier that evening near Montes’ parked vehicle.

The argument quickly escalated into a physical fight, at which point witnesses said Torres pulled a gun and shot Montes. The victim was examined at a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Torres was arrested and allegedly admitted to shooting Montes post-Miranda.

He claimed he was acting in self-defense, according to the arrest affidavit, only brandishing and shooting his 9mm handgun after Montes allegedly physically assaulted him first. The source of the injuries visible on Torres’ face in his mugshot was not immediately cleared, nor addressed in the affidavit.

Medical personnel determined Montes had been shot twice, once in his upper chest and once in his back. Police have interpreted this to mean the victim may have been turning away from the shooter when the second shot fired, or possibly falling.

Investigators also observed multiple spent shell casings on the ground near a Chevrolet Tahoe, though it has not been made clear if that was Montes’ vehicle, or if those casings are confirmation that Torres had been firing a gun near that vehicle.

Torres was booked into the Dallas County Jail on a $500,000 bond, per The Independent.