Family of ice cream man shot in North Austin demands justice
Family of ice cream man shot and killed in North Austin demands justice
Urias fought for his life in a hospital and on July 1st he died from his injuries. Well known as the ice cream man in the area, Urias began selling ice cream during the pandemic after being laid off from work. Anything he earned he would send home to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
AUSTIN, Texas - The family of a beloved ice cream man who was shot in north Austin and later died from his injuries is asking for the public’s help in bringing the men responsible for his death to justice.
On June 23rd, 68-year-old Adeliado Bernabe Urias was pushing his small ice cream cart around the Serena Park Apartments off of West Rundberg Lane when police report three men attempted to rob him at gunpoint and then shot him. A woman who was nearby heard Urias's cries for help and comforted him till help arrived.
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“Unfortunately that day he went out for the last time. Not even finishing his shift selling ice cream. Who would’ve thought he would not make it home?” said Isabel Olvera, Urias’s niece. “It was a senseless cowardly action like for what? You attack an elderly man and steal $50 from him. It doesn’t make sense to us.”
Urias fought for his life in a hospital and on July 1st he died from his injuries. Well known as the ice cream man in the area, Urias began selling ice cream during the pandemic after being laid off from work. Anything he earned he would send home to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
“To help his family in Mexico,” his niece Maribel Olvera said in Spanish. “Like every other immigrant in this country. We come with dreams.”
Urias was loved by the neighborhood. “We got messages from people saying my kids would only buy from him and they would call him grandpa,” Isabel Olvera said.
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The lead Austin Police homicide detective on Urias’s case, Nathan Sexton, said the area where the shooting happened is high in crime. He stood with the family as they plead for witnesses to come forward to help bring the family closure.
“We know a lot of people are afraid to come forward, with intimidation....or just fear in general,” said Det. Sexton. “I remind everybody that immigration status doesn’t matter. We don’t care about any of that, we just want justice for him.”
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Detectives are asking anyone with video or information about this incident to call APD Homicide at 512-974-TIPS or use the Crime Stoppers App or email APD Homicide. You can remain anonymous.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help raise money. The family is also inviting the public to attend a rosary at 6 p.m. Saturday in the 1900 block of Hearthside Drive.