Del Rio officer wounded in shooting during welfare check, suspect arrested

A routine welfare check in the 900 block of East 10th Street turned violent when a Del Rio police officer was shot in the thigh and a 37-year-old suspect was later arrested after barricading himself inside a home. The officer was taken to Val Verde Regional Medical Center and was reported in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said the call came in about 7:28 a.m. after a vehicle alarm drew officers to a home in east Del Rio. When they arrived, they found a white GMC Sierra 2500 parked in the carport and saw that the front door was open. Officers announced themselves several times, then went inside to check on the occupants.

Inside the residence, officers encountered Eric Anthony Castillo, who was armed with a handgun. Police said Castillo fired multiple shots, striking one officer in the thigh. The officer returned fire, and Castillo retreated deeper into the house before barricading himself inside. He later surrendered without further incident.

Castillo was charged with three counts of deadly conduct by discharging a firearm, one count of aggravated assault on a public servant and one count of attempted capital murder of a peace officer. The case left a quiet residential block on Del Rio’s east side tied to a fast-moving emergency response that sent one officer to the hospital and drew in law enforcement support across the area.

The incident also comes against a backdrop of previous police contact for Castillo. A Del Rio case from May 7, 2025 identified an Eric Anthony Castillo in a shots-fired investigation on East 12th Street, where he was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. That earlier case adds context to the latest confrontation, which began as a welfare check and ended with an officer wounded and a suspect in custody.

Val Verde County’s law-enforcement network includes Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez and the Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office at 295 FM 2523 Hamilton Road in Del Rio. The City of Del Rio also has been seeking bids for police department vehicles, a reminder that the department continues to manage the basic operational needs of local policing even as officers respond to dangerous calls like the one on East 10th Street.