SAN ANTONIO -- Manuel Rios' children said that their father was on his way to work at IHOP when he was fatally shot. They said that he was a very hard worker and all of this is especially shocking to them because they say he was loved by so many in his east-side neighborhood.
"It hurts because he's not coming back," said Aurora Aguilera, his oldest daughter. "Nobody deserves to go out like that and be hurt when they're just trying to provide for their family."
She said that her dad was on his way to work around 5 a.m. Monday when he was shot. According to police, whoever shot him left immediately. They have no leads so far.
"If you had the guts to go and kill him, an innocent and unarmed man, then why can't you be woman or man enough to come forward," Aguilera said.
The shooting happened right in front of his apartments in the 4600 block of Dietrich Road.
"How could you do that to somebody? Why did you do that to him? He's awesome. He had no enemies,” said Manuel Jr., his youngest son.
The kids said that he was looking forward to having his fourth grandchild and that he often played basketball and loved helping others.
"If anybody needed help or anything, he would give his last dollar," Manuel Jr. said.
The family is hosting a candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and are asking everyone to wear Spurs gear because Rios was a die-hard fan. The vigil will be where the shooting happened.
At Manuel's Vigil, fliers were passed out to everyone who attended. The message was a plea to the community to end the crime on the city's east side. It read:
"What is it going to take for people to talk? Why remain silent? Why wait for it to happen to one of your family members? Pretending to know nothing will not keep you safe. It will only allow more crimes to be committed and more people to keep dying. This month alone, there have been 16 homicides on the east side, higher than any other month this year. We need to speak up, stop being scared and reclaim our east side neighborhoods! Today, an innocent, disabled man was murdered. A heinous crime has taken a loving father, grandfather, son, uncle, brother, god father and friend. He was a hard worker, a Christian man just on his way to work when he was brutally gunned down. Justice has to be served!!! We need to put a stop to the these crimes. Please help our family find these murders. If you have any information, call Crime Stoppers at 210-224-STOP. Please help us solve this murder and get closure for our family."