Moments after father allegedly shot and killed his son caught on camera.
Ring camera footage captured the moments after a man allegedly killed his son.
Before the police arrived, Contreras was caught on a Ring doorbell video recounting the incident to his wife.
“Is he alive? Is he breathing?” his wife asked.
“No, he’s not breathing,” Contreras replied. “He’s dead.”
Contreras appeared in court on Thursday for a hearing seeking to be released on bond.
Thursday’s court proceedings, referred to as an Arthur hearing, resemble a quick trial that could potentially grant David Contreras bond.
During the hearing, Contreras was observed crying and breaking down while listening to the 911 call he made after shooting his son in the head.
“What did I do?” Contreras said in the call. “I was fighting with my son…I lost it, he wouldn’t stop.”
Eric Contreras was described by his friends as a humorous and affectionate college student, though he often had conflicts with his parents.
Friends mentioned that the family had been on a Disney trip in Orlando, but due to Eric’s behavior, he and his dad returned to Kendall, where a dispute escalated and turned fatal.
According to an arrest report, David Contreras shot his son multiple times “for unknown reasons” then alerted the police that he’d shot his son.
When officers arrived at the scene near 10703 Southwest 84th Avenue, they found Eric Contreras suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
In the 911 calls from the incident, a man identifying himself as David Contreras’ other son informed a dispatcher that he wasn’t at home but had just received calls from his parents.
“I don’t know, I think something happened to my brother, my dad’s calling and he’s freaking out,” he told the dispatcher. “My mom called me saying that someone’s dead, I’m not sure, I’m freaking out.”
Police stated it wasn’t the first time David Contreras had threatened to shoot his son. Last May, police reported he fired at the ceiling, and on Halloween, just days before the fatal shooting, he pointed a gun at his son.
The father’s attorney suggested that Eric struggled with his mental health, which may have played a role in the incident.
“This is just a very tragic situation. He is distraught,” defense attorney Frank Quintero Jr., one of three lawyers representing David Contreras, told NBC6 over the phone after the incident. “The victim is the son of the defendant, and the victim has suffered from some severe emotional and mental conditions, and we’re still trying to determine what happened, why it happened.”
David Contreras’ attorney entered a not guilty plea for him back in November at a formal arraignment, but he’s been held without bond since his arrest.
Defense attorneys hope David Contreras will be allowed to return home while awaiting trial, while prosecutors argue for his continued incarceration.
The hearing was anticipated to continue in March.