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Carlos Fernandez

Age : 29

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/15/2025

Location : Olive Street and Valencia Avenue

City : Laredo

County : Webb

State : Texas

Agency : Laredo Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during confrontation

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/15/2025, at approximately 3:12 a.m., Laredo Police Department officers responded to West Montgomery Street and McDonnell Avenue after a caller reported a man making threats who appeared to be under the influence and possibly armed. The man left the area before officers located him. Minutes later, police received another call from the 300 block of West Elm Street reporting an assault. Police later identified the man involved in both incidents as 29-year-old Carlos Fernandez.
Police said Fernandez approached a man who was asleep inside a vehicle, struck him in the head with a bottle and continued kicking him in the head after he was on the ground. Surveillance video reviewed and later shown to reporters captured the assault. Investigators also alleged Fernandez had been involved in a vehicle burglary in the same area earlier that morning.
Officers located Fernandez near West Saunders Street and East San Francisco Avenue. Fernandez ran from officers while carrying an object wrapped in cloth. Police followed him and repeatedly ordered him to drop the object. According to the department, officers attempted to de-escalate the encounter and one officer deployed a Taser. Police said Fernandez then directed the cloth-wrapped object toward the officers, and a second officer fired his handgun, striking Fernandez in the abdomen and left arm.
Police initially described the object as an apparent knife. Investigators subsequently determined that Fernandez had been holding a pair of scissors wrapped in a rag. Fernandez was transported to Laredo Medical Center and underwent treatment but died later that afternoon from the gunshot wounds.
Laredo Police Chief Miguel A. Rodriguez Jr. later disclosed that the officer who killed Fernandez was 24 years old, had served approximately two years with the Laredo Police Department and was placed on administrative reassignment while the shooting was investigated. The department did not publicly identify the officer by name in the reporting located for this update.
Fernandez's family disputed the necessity of the shooting and publicly demanded additional information and accountability. On 08/18/2025, his mother, wife, children and other relatives and supporters demonstrated for nearly three hours outside Laredo Police Department headquarters. Fernandez's wife, Karina Diaz, questioned the department's account and alleged excessive force. His mother, Maria Holguin, said that although her son had problems, she did not believe police needed to kill him. Chief Rodriguez subsequently met privately with Holguin and provided the family with some information that police had not yet released publicly.
On 08/19/2025, Rodriguez said the department's preliminary review indicated that the officer's use of deadly force was justified. Police showed reporters surveillance footage connected with the events preceding the shooting but continued reviewing the shooting itself. Rodriguez said the investigation would undergo additional review by the Webb County District Attorney's Office and the Texas Rangers. The shooting officer remained on administrative reassignment during the investigation.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.lmtonline.com/local/article/suspect-shot-laredo-pd-officer-dies-20819760.php
https://www.lmtonline.com/local/article/laredo-pd-officer-shot-man-pointing-object-case-20819634.php