A NEWLYWED couple experienced a tragedy when the groom was shot in the head by masked gunmen during an armed robbery attempt.
Manuel Gonzalez was shot just hours after he married his wife, Dulce, during their wedding reception.
The shocking incident happened in the Dutchtown neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, around 1 am on Saturday.
The wedding party was taking place in the couple’s garden with around 50 guests.
A group of masked men entered the party through the bride and her sister’s split driveway fence.
These suspects reportedly told the guests not to move and demanded they hand over money, according to Fox affiliate KTVI.
The men reportedly waved their guns at guests as a threat.
They then shot the groom in the head a number of times and fled the scene on foot, without taking any money or valuables.
Security footage has caught the apparent moment these two suspects fled the scene of the crime, according to KTVI.
These gunmen were reportedly in and out of the reception in around 30 seconds.
Manuel, 32, was taken to a hospital and listed in a critical condition.
The bride’s sister, Yaribeth Pena, explained how this affected the family.
“They took nothing, yet they took everything from us,” she said.
“He’s a good father. A good husband to my sister. He’s a hard worker,” she added.
“He’s just an all-around good person that, I don’t know, he didn’t deserve this.”
The couple has been together for a decade and have two children together.
They took nothing, yet they took everything from us.
Yaribeth Pena
Pena shared that the family is hoping the groom’s condition will improve.
“He’s fighting for his life. We are hoping he pulls through,” she said.
Her family said that police had not collected all the evidence and spoken to all of the witnesses yet, as of Sunday afternoon.
Their families have called on the public to come forward with any information.
A GoFundMe was also created by a family friend and has raised over $12,000 so far.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police for comment.
