SAN ANTONIO — Family and friends of Gilbert "Aaron" Rocha held a balloon release in his honor 7 years after his death as their search for justice continues.
“For Aaron!!!” yelled the small crowd gathered at the corner of Huebner and Lockhill-Selma Rd as they let a cluster of red balloons loose. Some of the balloons drifted off into the sky, but many of them were caught on a power line.
“I'm going to take it as a sign,” said Aaron’s mother, Lori Rocha. “Not only that they just got tangled up, but that, yeah, he's still here.”
Investigators have not found Rocha’s killer, but his family is not giving up. The circumstances of the case suggest there was at least one witness to the crime.
“We need that person out there to call and give the information they're withholding,” said Rocha.
Aaron was shot and killed in the early morning of November 26th. It happened on Huebner Rd near Lockhill-Selma. Police say a passenger in another vehicle fired into the Blue Ford Explorer Aaron was riding in, the bullets hit both Aaron and the driver, but Aaron was struck in in the head and died.
"The driver survived,” Lori said. “He said it was road rage. He doesn't know what happened, why they shot at him."
Christopher Galvan says the death of his uncle Aaron changed him. He said Aaron was more like an older brother and helped him learn how to be a better older brother to his own siblings.
"That part of my life was a real hardest time. I went through a lot of struggles after that,” said Galvan. “Even though it happened a long time ago. It's still, it still feels new every day.”
Rocha is hoping someone will call Crimestoppers at 210-224-7867 with the information that will help police bring her son's case to a close. There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
"They need more information,” she said. “And that's another reason I come out here to keep it very current and in the public's eye."