Premont High School Graduate, Librado Telles Jr., 16, Killed in Shooting Just 48 Hours After Graduation

The small South Texas town of Premont was still celebrating the Class of 2026 when tragedy arrived without warning.

Librado Telles Jr., a 16-year-old who had just walked across the graduation stage at Premont High School on Friday, May 22, was fatally shot just two days later.

The loss has left a tight-knit community searching for answers and grieving a young man whose future had barely begun.

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According to Jim Wells County officials, the shooting occurred around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, at a residence in the 600 block of Southwest 8th Street in Premont.

Telles, known affectionately to friends and classmates as “LJ,” was pronounced dead following the incident. The Premont Police Department launched an investigation immediately, though authorities have been measured in what they share publicly.

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Chief Ricardo R. Garcia confirmed the case was initially classified as an equivocal death, meaning the manner of death had not yet been formally determined at the time of early reporting. No arrests have been announced, and no suspects have been publicly identified as the investigation remains active and ongoing.

A Community Left Grieving

For the people of Premont, a town where everyone tends to know everyone, the news hit with the kind of weight that is difficult to put into words. Friends who gathered at one of the local hangouts described the moment they learned of LJ’s passing as one of pure disbelief. To them, Telles was not just a classmate.

He was the kind of person who made a room feel different the moment he walked in. Those who knew him spoke about his love for football, his oversized personality, and the energy he brought to everything he touched.

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He was 16 years old and had just received his high school diploma. The cruelty of the timing was not lost on anyone.

Premont ISD released a statement expressing grief over the loss of one of their students, describing it as a heartbreak felt across the entire district.

In response, the district made counseling and family support services available at the Premont Collegiate Library, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. United Connection Counseling was also scheduled to be on site to help students, staff, and families process what happened.

Even neighboring Alice ISD released a statement, offering condolences and specifically naming Librado “LJ” Telles Jr. while extending thoughts and prayers to the entire Premont ISD community.

A Family Remembering Their Son

The Telles family has shared photographs of LJ in the days following his death, images that show a young man full of life who had every reason to look forward to the road ahead.

Graduation photos, smiling faces, a diploma in hand. The family is now navigating an unimaginable grief while a community rallies around them.

Premont police are asking the public and media to respect the privacy of the family during this ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to contact the Premont Police Department directly at 361-348-3231.

For a town this size, the loss of a teenager is not just a headline. It is a wound felt in every hallway, every household, and every corner of the community that watched him grow up.