Stray bullet kills bystander in Dallas robbery

A Dallas family is mourning the loss of its father after a stray bullet hit and killed him as an innocent bystander to a robbery earlier this month.

Police said the bullet hit and killed Juan Correa, 37, across the street from his home in the Pleasant Grove neighborhood in Dallas on April 11.

According to police, a group of teenagers had been robbing multiple people at gunpoint. The group held up a man as he got out of a truck on Nisqually Street. One of the robbers fired a shot as the robbery victim ran to his house. The bullet struck Correa who was nearby. 

Police arrested Tradareon Choice, 18, Shemar McCarthy, 17, Joshua Valdez, 17, and Ira Wheeler, 18.

Police said Choice pulled the trigger, Valdez was the getaway driver, McCarthy and Wheeler were along for the ride. All four have been charged with murder.

A white cross with flowers marks the spot where Correa lost his life.

Correa leaves behind a wife of 15 years and three children. The youngest child is only one year old.

Correa’s cousin, Jose Arzola, is one of many family members and friends mourning his death.

“It was just destiny,” Arzola said. “I think God took him because he was good…When everybody dies, we all say the same thing, 'oh he was his a good person.' But in this case, he was for sure. He was."

Friends rememebered Correa as a family man.

“He was always so happy,” said family friend Terry Chase. “He had three kids. He had a beautiful wife. He had everything a man could ask for.”

Correa’s 13-year-old daughter said she is still in disbelief.

“They were robbing the house on the corner,” she said. “They shot, they tried to shoot and the bullet hit my dad…It's been hard without him. To this point, I still don't believe it. He was just all we had.”

Correa’s children also described their father as someone who loved to ride his horse around town.

Maria Banda-Chase, a family friend, spoke about the murder.

“They ruined a family,” Banda-Chase said. “Even if it's intentional or unintentional. Think about the family you could be hurting in the long run...It could be your own family one day.”

The family has set up a GoFundMe for the funeral and related expenses. You can find it here.