SAN ANTONIO — Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a press conference Monday afternoon that a gun was recovered with the help of Harris County Sheriff's Office scuba dive teams that is believed to be connected to the shooting at home on Windsor Hollow where a 4-year-old girl was killed.
On May 8, MaryAnn Marble, her parents and two other siblings were shot at their northeast side home in what authorities said was a targeted attack. MaryAnn was the only one that didn't survive.
Salazar said digital evidence gave investigators reason to believe that in the hours after the shooting, evidence may have been discarded at Calaveras Lake by one of the several persons of interest in the case.
One of the key pieces of evidence BCSO said it has been searching for in the investigation is the short barrel AK-47-style gun used by the shooters, also called a draco.
Last week, BCSO said it conducted its own low-tech throw test using a replica training weapon that was tied to a rope to see how far a weapon similar in size and weight could be launched into the body of water. That test gave them an idea of how far out to look.
Today, Salazar said Harris County Sheriff’s Office dive teams came out to Calaveras Lake and at about that same distance, they located a weapon that matches the description of the one investigators were looking for.
Earlier this month three people were arrested in a Bexar County auto-theft crime ring but arrest records showed those same suspects could possibly be connected to the May shooting. Deputies believe 19-year-old Bryan Salazar and 20-year-old Isaiah Perales, who were taken into custody but have since bonded out, are the gunmen seen in dramatic home surveillance video of the shooting. Authorities are still looking for 18-year-old Ashton Vara Garcia in connection with the car thefts.
The Sheriff said the persons of interests are on investigator's radar but it is premature at this time to consider them suspects in the shooting.
“They might want to come out and have another conversation with us before we come and find them," Salazar said.
Salazar also mentioned that one of the persons of interest in the case happens to be an amateur rapper who has a song mentioning disposing of weapons into a body of water.
Investigators hope once the weapon recovered in Monday's search is tested, it will move the investigation forward and lead to an arrest warrant. If the gun is found to be a match, BCSO says it they are confident they will make an arrest in the murder very soon.
Meanwhile, the Sheriff said MaryAnn's father, who was also a victim in the shooting, is still not cooperating with investigators.
“We’re not going to stop until someone faces justice for this," Salazar said.