SAN ANTONIO – Loved ones of a Floresville man killed in a San Antonio shooting in March are hoping for closure and justice.
Ryan Rivera, 28, crashed his car into an apartment complex office after he was shot in the chest, according to San Antonio police.
The incident happened on the West Side at 2600 Westward Drive.
Savannah Beasley, his best friend, said she was caught off-guard by his death.
“I was talking to his mother and she asked me if I had seen or talked to him,” Beasley said. “He was missing for a couple of days, so I said I would call and text him. He didn’t respond and then the next day, she asked me again and I told her I still hadn’t heard anything.”
Beasley said the next words out of his mother’s mouth devastated her.
“She was like, ‘He’s gone.’ I said, ‘What do you mean he’s gone?’ She was like, ‘Baby, he’s dead,’” Beasley said. “I was just remembered screaming, ‘No! No! Not him!’”
Jonnie Mccalib, Rivera’s mother, is devastated.
“One moment, she is okay, but then the next, she is falling apart,” Beasley said. “She doesn’t want to go on sometimes but then she has two other children that need her. She just wants to know why. Why her son?”
Before his death, Rivera was going to school to become an EMT.
“He loved helping people, so he did a lot of caretaking,” Beasley said. “He was such an outstanding student as well.”
She said there are several reasons why she considered Rivera her best friend.
“He was one of those people who when he walked in a room, it could be the worst day ever and when he came in, he lit it up,” Beasley said. “His smile alone, you couldn’t help but smile back. We shared everything with each other. He would also love to have these dance-offs and he would be so good. He’d be better than some of the girls out there and all you could do was laugh.”
Sadly, those laughs have now become only memories.
“He was just an amazing person,” Rivera said. “It is so hard to believe someone would want to do this! It is unreal,” she said through tears. “Like why?”
Beasley said she couldn’t handle going to his funeral.
“It is just horrible,” she said. “I could not see my friend being buried. I couldn’t see his last moments being him dead. I wanted to remember him as alive and smiling and not being buried.”
She said they only want to know why and who did what they did.
“He was never involved into anything that would have caused anyone to attack him,” Beasley said. “We are left with so many questions. Was it that he was in the wrong area at the wrong time? Was it that he had a nice car, and someone was trying to take it from him? Was it over money? Like, we have no idea. As far as we know in the investigation, there are no leads or witnesses.”
Beasley said they want nothing more than for the suspect to turn themselves in.
“I would say to them that it might have been an accident, or a misunderstanding and you may be scared but please come forward,” Beasley said. “Please say something to give closure to his mother who was his best friend. To give peace to others who loved him. We are not going to stop looking for you. He was very loving and meant a great deal to all of us and you may not have known him, and I wish you did, but turn yourself in.”
As a gift to his mother, Beasley purchased a star through the star registry.
“It is called, ‘Ryan’s Light,’” she said. “He is in the constellation called the Phoenix which means, ‘The Unforgotten.’”
She added she hopes her friend’s death encourages others out there to cherish the time they have with their best friends.
“If you have a best friend like Ryan, be sure to go visit them,” Beasley said. “Really, life is very short, and you really never know when you will get that chance again. We didn’t think this would happen. Take time to go and see them because you never know when they could be taken away.”
Other loved ones have written special words dedicated to Rivera below:
“Ryan was technically my cousin, but we were so close we called ourselves twins. His sweet soul was taken too soon. He didn’t deserve what happened to him. We are living a nightmare now. We need this person off the streets so he can’t do this to someone else. Please help give our family some closure. If you have any information about who is responsible for his death, please come forward.”
Love, Chelsea Klicker
Ryan Rivera remembered by friends.
“We want and need justice for our sweet, caring, loving and funny cousin Ryan Rivera. Please let us know if anyone knows any information for my cousin, he did not deserve to go like this. So young and so amazing”
Love, Rachel Alonzo
Ryan Rivera remembered by loved ones.
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