BUDA, Texas — Anna Mendivil shared a bond so close with her 17-year-old son, Erick Marin, that it was easy for her to imagine their future together.
"I always said when I get old, I was going to live with him because he was my most loyal-est child," Mendivil said.
Mendivil is a cosmetologist and said her son was so loyal that he did not want anyone else cutting his hair besides his mother.
"I knew what he liked," Mendivil said.
But she ended up giving her son his very last haircut.
"I was able to see him again, was able to kiss him again. Not the way I wanted to ... alive," Mendivil said.
On Aug. 5, Hays County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to the Shadow Creek subdivision in Buda following reports of a shooting. When authorities arrived, they found a boy dead with an apparent gunshot wound.
"I couldn't see his body because the grass was too long." Mendivil said. "They left my baby there, just laying there, for hours."
Hays County officials say they have identified everyone involved in the shooting and are working with the District Attorney's Office to determine which charges, if any, will be filed.
As Mendivil grieves her son, she is making a promise to return the same loyalty he showed to her.
"I'm always gonna love him no matter what," Mendivil said. "He's always going to be in my heart, always."
A visitation for Erick Marin will take place on Aug. 17 at Weed-Corley-Fish South Chapel on South Congress Avenue, with a memorial service scheduled to take place from 11 a.m. until noon.