Cops charged a La Grulla man with a serious felony. A Friday morning attack left another man bleeding and badly hurt.

Mark Anthony Salinas, 31, of La Grulla, now faces one count of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. That is a felony that can mean 2 to 20 years in prison.

The attack happened Friday, June 19, 2026. It was about 8:59 a.m. in La Grulla. La Grulla is a small Starr County town. A lot of neighbors there know each other.

This case matters because it shows how fast a quiet Friday morning can turn violent. It started as a simple welfare call. A welfare call is when police check on someone because a neighbor is worried. This one ended with a man running for his life into the woods.

Officer Monique Rosa works for the La Grulla Police Department. She answered the call that morning. A woman had phoned police. She said she was worried about someone. Officer Rosa did not know yet how bad things were.

When Officer Rosa reached the scene, she found a man walking up. He looked confused. Blood dripped down his face. His body had deep bruises all over it.

The hurt man told Officer Rosa who did it. He said Mark Anthony Salinas attacked him. He said a second man attacked him too. He knows that man as "Boy." Police records name "Boy" as Leonel Salinas.

The victim said the two men beat him. He said they fired a gun toward him. He said he ran into nearby woods to get away. He hid there until he made it back out.

The victim named a third man. He said a man he knows as "El Diablo" drove Salinas and "Boy" to his home. Police records name "El Diablo" as Jorge Luis Garcia. The victim said Garcia drove them there in a maroon Ford truck.

The sworn complaint lays out the charge against Salinas. A sworn complaint is a written statement an officer signs and swears is true. It says Salinas hit the victim with a black handgun. It says Salinas fired that gun toward him. It says Salinas used or showed a deadly weapon during the attack.

The complaint does not say the victim was shot. It says he was hit with the gun. It says Salinas fired it toward him. El Tejano is sticking to those exact words because they matter.

Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon is a second degree felony under Texas law. In plain terms, that means Salinas could face 2 to 20 years in prison if a jury or judge finds him guilty. It is one of the more serious charges on the books in Texas short of murder or a first degree felony.

Leonel Salinas ("Boy") and Jorge Luis Garcia ("El Diablo") are both named in the sworn complaint. The complaint says they took part in what happened. Neither man is the defendant on this specific charging document. That means this complaint does not charge them with a crime. It does name them as people who were there.

The complaint does not say whether Salinas is out on bond or still in jail. No court date is listed in the complaint.

La Grulla sits in southern Starr County, close to the Rio Grande. It is a small, close knit town. Most people there have lived nearby for years. News like this tends to spread fast, from front porches to group chats.

A shooting so close to home can shake a small town like La Grulla. Neighbors want to know they are safe on their own street. Cases like this one show why deputies and city police take welfare calls seriously, even when they start out sounding routine.

El Tejano will keep following this case as more information comes out.