Tragic death

Moyses Arreguin’s good deed came at a high price.

Moyses Arreguin probably isn’t a familiar name to you. Even if it rings a bell, it likely will fade from memory in a few weeks’ time.

So, let’s remind you of why Moyses Arreguin’s name deserves to be etched into your memory. He’s the 29-year-old welder and father of two who was fatally shot July 27 while rescuing a teenage friend being robbed by thugs in north Harris County.

The friend, 16-year-old Sergio Bruno, says two men who had been driving up and down the street got out of their vehicle, pointed a gun at him and demanded cash. “There was no way I was going to give it up,” he told reporters.

Arreguin saw what was happening, grabbed a baseball bat, and hit one of the assailants. His good deed came at a high price — his life. Arreguin was shot multiple times and died. The robbers sped off, but police later arrested three suspects; all teenagers, two of them juveniles.

Several articles since his murder have described Arreguin as a “good Samaritan,” but people familiar with the Bible story know it’s a tale of a good deed performed by a man who wasn’t expected to show kindness. People who knew Arreguin said his reputation was just the opposite.

“People friendly” was the way Bruno’s mother, Cecilia Mejia, described Arreguin. “He’s now hopefully up in heaven.”

“He gave his life so that a 16-year-old neighbor could live his life,” said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. “He’s a hero.”

But Sheriff Gonzalez had another message: “Juvenile males should not be armed out there committing these type of crimes, period.”

Houston homicides dropped 11 percent in 2017 to 269 murders, but that’s 269 deaths too many. That’s why people should remember the name of yet another victim of America’s epidemic of gun violence.

Remember Moyses Arreguin every time another story of senseless gun violence appears in the paper, on TV, or the internet. Remember him and urge lawmakers to take common-sense gun reform measures that won’t unduly impinge on anyone’s Second Amendment rights.

It’s a myth that there was no gun control in the Old West. Tombstone, Dodge City, Abilene, Deadwood; they all required visitors to disarm upon entering town or have their guns forcibly removed.

Today, teenage thugs have easy access to guns they use to shoot good people like Arreguin. Remember his name. Make your legislators remember his name. Make them understand gun regulation was needed in the Wild West, and it’s needed now.