Eddie Moreno, the former Alamo Heights High School basketball prodigy whose career dreams were brutally halted by a road rage shooting in 2011, has died. Moreno, paralyzed from the incident when he was just 17, passed away Wednesday afternoon according to a post from his mother on his Facebook page. "He was undoubtedly the strongest person she'd ever known and gave it all he had to the very end, just shy of 13 years," the message read, FOX San Antonio reported.
Moreno's promising future was cut tragically short in the early hours one Saturday, after a night out with his cousins nearly ended in a collision, igniting to a ferocious road rage chase down Broadway in San Antonio. The former point guard, who'd aspired to quickly rise through college and take up coaching, had his life irrevocably altered when a bullet, which had been fired through his cheek, lodged itself in his spine. This accident happened a mere few weeks after he'd confided to teammates about his coaching dreams, KENS 5 reported.
In the wake of the shooting, support flowed from teammates and neighboring schools alike, testament to the impact of Moreno's situation on the community. Despite his hospitalization and the paralysis that rendered him immobile, Moreno showed a resilience that awed many, displaying early efforts to communicate and grasp the details of what had occurred.
Although the case drew considerable attention, it remained shrouded in the misery of unresolved justice - in spite of years elapsed, no arrests were made in connection with the shooting that devastated his future. To date, the perpetrator remains at large, the questions around why and by who'Eddie was targeted remaining tragically unanswered. Moreno's battle, however, stands as a somber reflection of the youth and promise often caught in the crossfires of senseless violence.
