18-year-old shot dead at graduation party, Texas cops say. ‘That was my baby’
An 18-year-old has been arrested in the shooting death of Andrew Farias, who Texas authorities say was killed at a party one day after he graduated high school.
The Uhland Police Department said May 27 that Chad Lee-Gardner was jailed on a murder charge, two days after the fatal shooting of Farias, also 18.
Farias, according to his family, had graduated from San Marcos High School on May 23.
The next night, a party was held at an Uhland house in honor of Farias, according to charging documents obtained by KTBC. The party continued into the early morning hours of May 25.
A homeowner asked people to leave around 1 a.m., but police said “a fight broke out between two girls,” KTBC reported. Lee-Gardner became involved in the dispute and is accused of hitting the homeowner in her head with a pistol.
That’s when, according to the criminal complaint, Farias confronted Lee-Gardner, who police said shot Farias two times.
Farias was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
“Me seeing him fall to the ground was the hardest thing,” Mariana De Luna, the victim’s girlfriend, told KEYE. “The last thing he did was grab my fingers. I’m glad he knew I was with him till the very end.”
With help from the Texas Rangers, Lee-Gardner was arrested in Austin. He is being held in the Travis County Jail.
Farias was a member of the San Marcos High School football team, which retired his number during a vigil held at the football stadium May 27.
“He played courageously,” coach Tom Carroll said, according to KEYE. “And obviously, he lived courageously.”
State Rep. Erin Zwiener said in an address at the Texas Capitol that Farias planned to attend Texas State University and pursue a degree in construction engineering.
In a statement to KVUE, Farias’ mother, Shannon Vasquez, said her son “held a special place” in her heart. She described her son as a “momma’s boy” who “avoided any confrontation.”
“My Andrew, that was my baby,” Vasquez told KEYE. “He had the biggest smile. He was such a loving, responsible, and hardworking baby.”
Uhland is about a 25-mile drive south from Austin.
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 3:36 PM with the headline "18-year-old shot dead at graduation party, Texas cops say. ‘That was my baby’."