A late-night confrontation and Interstate 30 pursuit ended with an arrest and sent officers racing to an apartment where two boys were found.
ARLINGTON, Texas — An armed man’s unexpected approach to a parked Arlington police officer set off a chain of events that led officers across Interstate 30 and ultimately to an apartment where two young brothers were found severely injured, authorities said.
The older child, 5-year-old Keiler Cruz-Guerra, later died at a hospital. His 2-year-old brother survived and was listed in stable condition. Police arrested their father, 27-year-old Heyco Cruz Linares, and charged him with capital murder, evading arrest and making a terroristic threat against a peace officer. Investigators were still trying to determine Friday why the children were attacked.
Police said the sequence began about 11:50 p.m. Sept. 30 at a gas station in the 1400 block of North Cooper Street. An officer was sitting in a parked patrol vehicle when a car pulled up nearby. Cruz Linares got out, approached the driver’s side of the police vehicle with a knife and struck the window, according to the Arlington Police Department.
The officer reversed the patrol car to create distance, then activated the vehicle’s emergency lights, got out and repeatedly ordered Cruz Linares to drop the knife, police said. Instead, Cruz Linares returned to his vehicle and drove away toward Interstate 30. The officer followed and attempted to make a traffic stop, but police said Cruz Linares did not stop.
A pursuit followed into Grand Prairie, with officers from that city assisting Arlington police. Authorities said Cruz Linares eventually stopped along I-30 near Northwest Seventh Street and was taken into custody. What officers learned during that arrest quickly changed the nature of the response.
Police said Cruz Linares made statements indicating that he had killed his children at an Arlington apartment. Officers determined the location was in the 1600 block of South Cooper Street and passed the information to other officers, who went immediately to the home. They entered the apartment and found the 5-year-old and 2-year-old with wounds consistent with a knife attack.
Emergency crews transported both boys to a hospital. Keiler later died from his injuries. The younger child remained hospitalized and was described by police as stable. Authorities have not released the toddler’s name, and police have provided few details about his recovery.
Arlington Police Chief Al Jones said during a Thursday briefing that cases involving young children weigh heavily on officers. The department was making peer counselors and chaplains available to personnel involved in the response, he said. Officers responding to the apartment had entered expecting to find children in danger after the statements made during the arrest.
The unusual progression of the case — from a confrontation at a gas station, to a highway pursuit, to an emergency response at an apartment — remains central to investigators’ timeline. Police have not said why Cruz Linares approached the officer, what occurred at the apartment before that encounter or what investigators believe motivated the attack on the children.
Jail records Friday showed Cruz Linares booked on a capital murder charge involving a victim younger than 10, as well as charges of evading arrest or detention with a vehicle and making a terroristic threat against a peace officer. No bail amount was listed on the charges. Additional charges could be filed as detectives continue their work. The allegations have not been proven in court.
The Arlington Police Department said the homicide investigation remains active. Authorities had not announced a motive or released a further medical update on the surviving boy as of Friday, leaving detectives to continue examining both the violence inside the apartment and the events that brought officers to the children.
Author note: Last updated October 2, 2026.