Man shot and killed; brother arrested

CEDAR PARK (KXAN) - Cedar Park Police have a man in custody who they believe shot his own brother.

Police responded to 2205 Sandra Drive in Cedar Park early Saturday morning in reference to a report of gunshots fired.

Upon arrival, officers discovered John P. Cornejo, 24, of Cedar Park, had been shot and died as a result. Philip Cornejo, 45, the brother of the deceased, was taken into custody by Cedar Park Police Officers.

Bright yellow police tape surrounds Maryann Cornejo's parents' home. Maryann's brother John Cornejo was shot and killed outside. Police believe his older brother Philip pulled the trigger.

"I feel like it's a bad dream, a nightmare," said Maryann. "It's almost like you want to wake up and it's not happening."

Philip, who is hearing impaired, worked at HEB since he was in the eighth grade.
John was 21 years younger.

Both brothers lived together with their parents.

"J.P. was a fun guy," said Maryann. "It's really hard to talk about him because he's gone, like really gone."

Friday night, John threw a birthday party for his nephew, who's around his age. But early Saturday morning, neighbors heard gunshots and saw John bleeding in his next door neighbor's front yard.

Investigators are now questioning how deep Philip and John's brotherly love really was.

"We have his older brother Philip Cornejo, who's 45 years old in custody and being interviewed by our investigators," said Captain Mike Harmon.

Detectives said there was a reason why Philip is now in custody.

"From what witnesses tell us, Philip was the one with the gun, the handgun," said Captain Harmon.

For Maryann, it's hard to believe her own brothers could turn on each other.

"Him and my brother loved each other," said Maryann. "They would horse around and play, but it was never anything that would end up in a fight."

The case is still under investigation; therefore no other details of the incident are being released according to Captain Harmon.