A BRAVE father was killed while shielding his 4-year-old son and pregnant wife from gunfire during a brazen break-in attempt.
Juvenal Antero, 24, died inside his home in Dallas, Texas, Saturday afternoon just inches away from his young child.
Juvenal Antero, 24, died while protecting his 4-year-old son from gunfire during an attempted home invasionNBC 5
His wife Elizabel Cardenas, who is pregnant with their second child, said two men asked for her help outside their house in Dallas, Texas before barging insideNBC 5
She broke down while saying their son keeps asking when his father will be backNBC 5
On Saturday, the Dallas Police Department responded to reports of a shooting at around 2:40 in the afternoon, officials said.
The report came after Antero’s wife, Elizabel Cardenas, heard a knock at the door and answered it to find two men asking for help.
Cardenas said the two men wanted to borrow a plunger, but she kindly declined and attempted to shut the door.
When she denied their request, one of the men barged in and threatened to shoot her.
“He showed me the gun and said for everybody to get on the ground,” Cardenas told NBC affiliate KXAS.
“And he points the gun at my son. My husband jumped in front of my son and took the bullet for my son.”
The men finally fled after Antero fired shots of his own while he bled on the ground.
First responders arrived at the scene and took Antero to the hospital where he was declared dead.
Cardenas said her son is asking her where his father is in a tearful interview after the tragedy.
“My son keeps asking me, when is my dad going to be alive again?” she said.
“Things that no child is supposed to witness or supposed to ask. I don’t wish this on anyone.”
With no arrests made and no suspects being named, Cardenas said she is having trouble finding any sense of closure.
She said: “There are no words that nobody’s words can comfort me.”
“You know, the detective didn’t let me touch his body, or let me hold his hand. He was evidence.”
Cardenas was excited about her growing family at the time of her husband’s death.
This pregnancy was very special to the two as Cardenas had suffered two miscarriages in the past.
“I’ve suffered two miscarriages. We’ve been trying for these couple of years,” she told ABC affiliate WFAA.
“It finally happened… I have to welcome this new baby into the world without a father.”
Cardenas said Antero was set to come to a doctor’s appointment where he would get to hear his baby’s heartbeat for the first time.
Instead, the family is spending the week preparing for a funeral.
“We were his everything. We were all that mattered to him,” said Cardenas.
“My son goes to sleep crying. What am I supposed to do?”
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, and police are asking for anyone who could help them find the suspects to come forward.
Cardenas made a heartwrenching plea for the killers to do the right thing and turn themselves in.
“No one’s life should be taken away because you wanted what we had,” she said.
“You’ll never have what we had or what we continue to have. You’ll never take his place.”
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