A 6-year-old girl was killed Sunday night when gunfire erupted during a noisy gathering of car enthusiasts at a strip mall parking lot on the West Side.

A 23-year-old man opened fire around 11 p.m., the result of an argument whose cause investigators were still trying to determine a day later, police said.

The girl, Saryah Perez, was at the gathering with her mother and was in the rear seat of a car when a round struck her in the upper torso, Police Chief William McManus said Monday.

She was transported to University Hospital, where she died.

Andrew Ray Elizondo, 23, was arrested Monday afternoon and charged with capital murder in the girls death.

Elizondo was taken into custody without incident around 2:30 p.m., McManus said. The suspect was an acquaintance of Saryahs mother, but that appeared to play no role in the shooting, the chief said.

This was not a domestic violence-related incident, McManus said.

Andrew Ray Elizondo

Its a random act by a reckless, heartless individual who could not have cared less where those bullets wound up, he said. This is all about human behavior, and someone who would do something like this I dont even have words for.

The girls mother, Kassandra Mendoza, was grazed in the back by shrapnel and drove to a nearby convenience store to ask for help, police said.

McManus said thats when the mother realized her daughter had been shot.

Members of a car club had gathered in the parking lot of a retail strip on the south side of Commerce, west of 24th, near Our Lady of the Lake University. The cluster of businesses there includes a Family Dollar store, a mobile phone shop, a furniture and appliance rental center, two loan stores and a Bank of America cash machine.

Roy Alderete, 35, said he witnessed the shooting and its aftermath. He spoke with a San Antonio Express-News reporter Monday afternoon at a convenience store on West 24th, diagonally across from the retail strip.

Kassandra Mendoza, the mother of Saryah Perez, is comforted by SAISD Chief William McManus during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Late Sunday night, Alderete said, he saw cars crowded into the parking lot. Then he heard a couple of shots, he said.

Next thing you know, theres just these cars flying everywhere, Alderete said.

One of the cars, a red sedan, pulled up at the convenience store, he said. Two women, a man and a girl were inside. The girl was in a car seat in the back, he said. Music blared from the vehicle.

I thought they were going to stop and come in the store, Alderete said.

Then, he said, one of the women checked on the girl and realized she had been shot.

It just went from laughing and music to yelling and crying, Alderete said.

One of the women pulled the girl from the car, laid her on the ground and tried to revive her, without success. She had lost a lot of blood, he said.

Alderete snapped pictures of the scene with his mobile phone. One of them showed a kneeling woman cradling a girl in her arms.

On Monday evening, Mendoza returned with family members to the spot where she had held her daughters lifeless body less than 24 hours earlier.

More than 200 people attended the vigil amid a strong police presence.

Kassandra Mendoza and Julio Garcia, parents of Saryah Perez during a rally Monday evening to honor their 6 year-old who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Kassandra Mendoza and Julio Garcia, parents of Saryah Perez and other family members cry during a rally Monday evening to honor their 6 year-old who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Supporters hold hands during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah Perez who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Joe Albert Montes leads a prayer during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah Perez who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Kassandra Mendoza and Julio Garcia, parents of Saryah Perez and other family members cry during a rally Monday evening to honor their 6 year-old who was shot and killed Sunday night.

People pray during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah Perez who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Regina Navarro speaks during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah Perez who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Well wishers surround and pray for Kassandra Mendoza during a rally Monday evening to honor her 6 year-old Saryah Perez who was shot and killed Sunday night.

David Segura prays during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah Perez who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Kassandra Mendoza and Julio Garcia, parents of Saryah Perez and other family members cry during a rally Monday evening to honor their 6 year-old who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Supporters fill the lot at 24th and Commerce during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah Perez who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Supporters fill the lot at 24th and Commerce during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah Perez who was shot and killed Sunday night.

The parents of 6 year old Saryah Perez, Kassandra Mendoza and Julio Garcia (center) are surrounded by supporters during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Richard Gallardo holds a sign during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah Perez who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Well wishers surround and pray for Kassandra Mendoza during a rally Monday evening to honor her 6 year-old Saryah Perez who was shot and killed Sunday night.

A woman collapses after the shooting, which took place at a strip mall parking lot on Commerce, west of 24th.

Mendoza wept uncontrollably alongside her mother and grandmother as Regina Navarro, a minister with River of Life Church, raised her arms and prayed over the family.

People joined in prayer, released silver and purple balloons, and held neon pink and yellow signs that read Stop the Violence, and Put down the guns, dont be a coward.

Navarro said Mendoza told her the fight started with a disagreement between a group of men and Mendozas boyfriend. She said the men, one of whom had previously dated Mendoza, confronted Mendoza and pulled her current boyfriend out of a vehicle.

Navarro said the men started beating Mendozas boyfriend until he got in the car with Mendoza and her daughter and drove off. When the car reached the street, one of the men pulled out a gun and fired at it, Navarro said.

We need to make a difference in San Antonio, Navarro said. Its just destroying everything that we worked for.

At car club meetups, people hang out, show off vintage automobiles and trade tips on maintenance and modifications. These are social events. McManus said thats how Sundays gathering started out. He called it a meeting of a legitimate car club.

Police have had problems in the last year with a different kind of meetup, where people race their cars, block streets or intersections, damage property and sometimes clash with police officers.

Kassandra Mendoza, the mother of Saryah Perez, is comforted by SAISD Chief William McManus during a rally Monday evening to honor 6 year-old Saryah who was shot and killed Sunday night.

Between Sept. 16 and May 5, San Antonio police recorded 24 encounters with such groups.

A task force assembled by McManus to address the problem made 116 felony and misdemeanor arrests in that time period.

Mariah Medina, a San Antonio Police Department spokeswoman, said the group that met Sunday night had not been on the departments radar.

The scene of the shooting is in City Council District 5, represented by Shirley Gonzales.

Gonzales said she lives a few blocks from the retail strip and heard gunshots around 11 p.m. Sunday, followed by sirens.

This isnt the first time since I took office that a child has been killed by a stray bullet, Gonzales said. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least five instances of children being murdered.

Gun violence in this neighborhood is just out of control, she said. Incidents like these dont get as much attention as mass shootings because they are individual incidents, but they are equally as devastating.

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From laughing and music to yelling and crying 6-year-old slain during West Side car meet - San Antonio Express-News