19-year-old charged with murder in deadly north Harris County shooting
A 19-year-old is charged after a shooting outside Mexcal Cantina in north Harris County left 18-year-old Jonathan Mata dead and a 20-year-old injured.
Harris County sheriff’s officials said a 19-year-old man was charged with murder after a shooting outside Mexcal Cantina near I-45 in north Harris County left 18-year-old Jonathan Mata dead and a 20-year-old man injured.
Mata’s death gives the case a painful family-violence dimension: the victim was a younger family member, and the violence also wounded another young man. The shooting happened outside the restaurant-cantina in the Airtex area, just off the North Freeway, where deputies were called to sort out what started as an apparently fast-moving confrontation.
Investigators were still working to piece together the sequence from the cantina to the parking lot, and they had not publicly detailed earlier warning signs or prior calls to the location. What is clear is that a witness followed the suspect as he fled, a break that helped deputies track down the 19-year-old and make the arrest.
The case now centers on the moments before the gunfire and how an argument or altercation among young adults escalated into a homicide and a second injury. With Mata identified as 18 and the other victim reported as 20, the shooting highlights how quickly family conflict around a public setting can turn lethal when a gun is involved.
Families in north Harris County facing escalating disputes have several local options before a confrontation turns deadly. In an emergency, call 911. For non-emergency help from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, dial 713-884-3131; the agency’s Crime Victim Assistance Unit says it provides crisis intervention, advocacy and access to resources for victims, survivors and families. AVDA’s Harris County domestic violence line is 713-224-9911, the Houston Area Women’s Center’s domestic violence hotline is 713-528-2121, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233, The Harris Center’s 24/7 Crisis and Access Line is 713-970-7000, and the Harris County District Attorney’s domestic violence office is at 1201 Franklin, Suite 600, Houston, with the main number 713-274-5800.
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