It was a Friday evening like any other for food‑truck owner Raquel Osorio — just her, her menu, and familiar faces gathering by Blalock Road near Kempwood. But that night, one of her regulars never came in — because he was found dead in his car just a few feet away.
The victim was later identified by Houston Police as 50‑year-old Gerardo Villalobos Salgado, and his death has left a quiet sadness in the place where he used to hang out. Osorio remembers him as someone who sat, laughed, joked — “someone who would stay here and would talk,” she said. Over the last couple of months, he’d become more than a customer — a light in her evenings.
On November 7, around 4 p.m., HPD responded to a shooting at 3107 Blalock Road, where they discovered Salgado with a gunshot wound inside a parked vehicle. Responding paramedics with the Houston Fire Department pronounced him dead right there at the scene.
Originally, the police said there was no known suspect or motive, leaving the community stunned and hurt. But by November 14, authorities had identified a suspect: Edwin Leonel Caal Gill, 41, who is now charged with murder in the 185th Criminal District Court — though he remains at large.
Osorio told her story to ABC13, describing how she watched Salgado pull up in his car and step out to order from her food truck. Just moments after she stepped away, she heard the shots. Suddenly he was gone. She said other nearby business owners also knew him — he wasn’t just another face in the parking lot.
In a strange, bittersweet way, his presence still lingers. Osorio recalls how he came with friends, helping others laugh and making the spot feel warm and human. She feels his absence deeply, watching the empty space where he used to sit.
Houston police describe the case as a homicide investigation ongoing by their Homicide Division, led by Detectives H. Martinez and L. Brooks. They’re asking anyone with info — dash-cam footage, surveillance — to come forward. You can reach out to HPD at 713‑308‑3600, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 713‑222‑TIPS.
For Osorio, it’s more than a criminal case — it’s the loss of a friend. She’s holding onto memories of his laugh, his stories, and how he made her food truck feel like a community. Now, all she — and many others — can do is hope for answers.
