SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A man accused of shooting a US Army soldier at his own welcome home party in San Bernardino, Calif., — leaving him paralyzed — turned himself into police Monday.
The 19-year-old man, named earlier as Ruben Ray Jurado, turned himself into San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies in Chino Hills about 2:00pm local time, KTLA-TV reported. He was accompanied by his lawyer.
Jurado made no comment to police about the shooting and is expected to be charged with attempted murder.
Christopher Sullivan, 22, was at the party Friday night when an argument broke out between his 16-year-old brother and another man — identified as Jurado — about football, KTLA-TV reported.
Sullivan, who was on leave from Afghanistan, stepped in when the argument escalated and Jurado allegedly pulled a gun from his waistband, firing three shots — two of which hit the soldier.
One hit Sullivan in the neck and another in the buttocks, leaving him in serious condition. “We’re not sure if he’s going to be paraplegic or quadriplegic,” Sgt. Gary Robertson said.
Jurador fled the party.
Sullivan was awarded a Purple Heart after surviving a suicide bombing last December in Afghanistan, The San Bernardino Sun reported. He sustained a cracked collar bone and brain damage in the attack.
“My son didn’t deserve this. He served his country,” his mother, Suzanne Sullivan, said. “The war didn’t get him, somebody at home got him.”
It is thought that the shooter went to school and played football with Sullivan, neighbors told KTLA-TV.
Sullivan remained in critical condition in a hospital Monday, the Sun reported. His brother Brandon Sullivan said he had been able to briefly communicate with his family.
“He’s still on the breathing machine. He’s still the same from yesterday,” Brandon Sullivan said. “He comes and goes and opens his eyes. If you talk to him, if you say something, he’ll blink his eyes.”