Shooting deaths at Georgetown restaurant leave community rallying for justice, safety

Honorio Velasquez’s mother could be heard sobbing throughout much of a vigil for her son and Armando Vicente Chilel Lopez, both killed Saturday in Georgetown.

She was surrounded by hundreds of people on The Circle on Thursday night, many of them holding signs that said “JUSTICE.” When local leaders finished speaking, the crowd gravitated to her. Nearly everyone waited their turn to offer condolences and a hug.

The community is rallying around her and the victims' families, raising money for funerals and demanding the killers be brought to justice. At the same time, they’re shocked by the violence.

“Our community is scared. They don’t feel comfortable going out and supporting local businesses or to dine,” said Alan Zunún, who identified himself as a cousin of Velasquez’s. “Even walking around, as of lately, we’re walking in pairs, in well-lit areas. We’re in touch with one another."

Just before the community began to gather on The Circle Thursday night, though, unbeknownst to them, police were arresting two men they say are responsible for the killings.

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The night of the fatal shooting, Velasquez and Lopez were eating dinner with friends at El Nopalito, a restaurant on Route 113 that friends said they frequented.

According to Delaware State Police, another group of Hispanic men had been asked to leave the restaurant earlier in the evening due to disorderly behavior and “having a dispute with other patrons."

When two of the men, identified by police as brothers Yony Morales-Garcia, 22, and Emner Morales-Garcia, 21, returned with masks on, one of them approached Lopez and removed his necklace, police said.

When Lopez lunged at him, the other man shot and killed him. The same man then fired into the restaurant as they fled, hitting and killing Velasquez.

“Nobody expected it,” said Zunún. “It really hit home. It hurt.”

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Velasquez lived in Georgetown for most of his 28 years and was a 2013 graduate of Sussex Central High School, according to friends, while the 31-year-old Lopez moved to the Georgetown area in his late teens.

Both men worked odd jobs in construction and as handymen, family members said.

Velasquez lived with his mother in Bridgeville. People who knew him said he was “loving” and “a free spirit.”

Lopez lived in Georgetown and had a 1-year-old-daughter, according to friends. They called him “Flaco,” and a friend described him as “quiet and sensitive.”

“They weren’t violent people,” Zunún said.

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Police arrested the two Georgetown men charged in the killings prior to the gathering Thursday.

During a traffic stop in the 17000 block of Windward Place in Milford around 5:30 p.m., police took Yony Morales-Garcia and Emner Morales-Garcia, both of Georgetown, into custody.

The brothers were each charged with two counts of first-degree murder, among other felonies. Both are being held on over $2 million cash bond.

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Velasquez's and Lopez’s slayings were the first shooting deaths in Georgetown since 2009, according to interim police Chief Ralph Holm, but they weren’t the only recent crimes.

There were armed robberies on Sunday and Monday in Georgetown. Holm said they’re unrelated to the homicides but may be related to each other.

Sunday’s incident occurred on North Race Street, about a block from the Police department, while Monday’s occurred on East Pine Street. In both cases, Hispanic-owned convenience stores were targeted, Holm said. No one was injured.

Police have substantial evidence for both robberies, according to Holm, which they hope to use to identify the suspects.

"We’re moving some assets around, cameras and different things, and were using other assets to beef up patrols. We’re doing the things we can to deter (crime),” Holm said. “But the things that get through the cracks and actually occur – we are doing our due diligence and I think we’re going to end up solving a lot of these things.”

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Georgetown community mourns shooting deaths of local men at restaurant