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The Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma, held a special Mass of Healing and Peace July 29, two days after a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot during a parish festival at St. Thomas More Catholic Church.
In a July 28 statement, the diocese urged prayers for the victim, Alexander Puentes, and his family.
“We ask our entire Catholic community to pray for the soul of this young man,” the statement read, “and we grieve together with his family and members of the St. Thomas More parish who knew him.”
According to 2 News Oklahoma, an NBC affiliate, police say 15-year-old Luis Hinch shot Puentes around 9 p.m. as the event ended. Church leaders said Hinch is not affiliated with the parish.
Tulsa Police Captain Richard Meulenberg told News on 6, a CBS affiliate, that Puentes had fought earlier that day with another teenager, who later called Hinch to the festival.
Hinch turned himself in the next day after his mother brought him to the police station, 2 News Oklahoma reported.
On July 28, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School — where Puentes was enrolled from 2023 to 2024 — posted a memorial on Facebook mourning his death.
“Alex was a beloved and faithful member of Saint Thomas More Parish his entire life,” the school wrote. “He served with joy and dedication as an altar server and was always ready to help whenever needed.”
“In moments like this,” it continued, “we are invited to entrust ourselves completely to the mercy of God. Though we walk through the valley of sorrow, we do not walk alone.”
