Del Rio officer shot, wallet stops bullet, recovering after attack

A front-pocket wallet likely kept Del Rio officer Alexis Ramos from suffering a far worse wound when he was shot during a call on East 10th Street. Ramos has been released from the hospital and is recovering after the attack, a sharp turn in a case that could have ended in tragedy.

The shooting unfolded around 7:28 a.m. April 12 in the 900 block of East 10th Street, after officers were sent to a vehicle alarm. They found a white GMC Sierra 2500 in a carport with its alarm sounding, then saw the front door open and got no response after announcing themselves multiple times. Officers Alexis Ramos and Ruben Robles entered for a welfare check and protective sweep, and investigators say they encountered Eric Anthony Castillo inside the home.

Police say Castillo pointed a handgun and fired multiple shots, striking Ramos in the upper thigh. Ramos returned fire, Castillo retreated and barricaded himself inside the residence, and additional officers later secured the scene. Castillo eventually came out and was taken into custody. Ramos was transported to Val Verde Regional Medical Center, where he was reported in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

A later update made clear how narrow the margin was. The round hit Ramos’ wallet in his front pocket, and police believe that stopped the bullet from penetrating his skin. What was first described as an upper-thigh gunshot wound became, by comparison, a much less severe injury because of that small piece of personal gear.

Castillo was charged with three counts of deadly conduct, discharge of a firearm, one count of aggravated assault on a public servant and one count of attempted capital murder of a peace officer. A probable cause affidavit described the attempted capital murder and aggravated assault charges as first-degree felonies and the deadly conduct counts as third-degree felonies. A Val Verde County justice of the peace ordered Castillo held without bond on April 13 after a Zoom magistrate hearing from the GEO Correctional Facility.

The case also drew attention because Castillo had already been identified as a suspect in a May 2025 shooting that wounded 30-year-old Alan Alderete in the abdomen. That investigation involved public tips, video and a search that included the Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Border Patrol, the Kinney County Sheriff’s Office and the Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office before Castillo was arrested near the Uvalde Border Patrol checkpoint.

For Del Rio, the recovery of one officer and the arrest of one suspect do not erase how quickly a routine welfare check turned into an armed confrontation. The outcome hinged on a wallet, a split-second difference that may have kept a local officer from suffering a life-threatening gunshot wound.