Ex-Estancia soccer player killed in Santa Ana stabbing
Bryan Aguilar looks at a memorial for Bryan Alverto Torres was stabbed to death during a fight at a party in Santa Ana over the weekend.
A former student and soccer team captain at Costa Mesa’s Estancia High School was stabbed to death in Santa Ana over the weekend, authorities said.
Bryan Alverto Torres, 19, was killed when a party at a home in the 2800 block of West Edinger Avenue turned violent at about 3:35 a.m. Saturday, according to Santa Ana police.
Witnesses told officers that a fight broke out on the driveway and that during the scuffle, Torres was stabbed several times in the upper torso, police said. Paramedics took Torres to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he died, authorities said.
Police did not say what city Torres was living in.
Nicholas James Tadlock, 22, who police say tried to flee the scene, was arrested on suspicion of murder.
On Tuesday, students at Estancia mourned the loss of Torres, who graduated last year. A memorial was set up outside the school.
Torres had a tight-knit group of friends and an outsized influence on the school’s soccer team while he was a senior last year, according to the team’s coach, Robert Castellano.
“The kid was a leader,” Castellano said. “The kid was very passionate about playing.”
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Torres’ heart for the game was unrivaled, according to the coach. He would take it on himself to motivate his teammates, often yelling to fire them up at halftime.
Castellano said he wished Torres had been able to play during all four years of high school, but grades kept him from being eligible until his senior year.
“He was a little rough around the edges, but he truly cared about his friends,” Castellano said.
This year, Torres was attending Orange Coast College, where he planned to keep playing soccer, according to Castellano. The coach advised him to hold off for a year to focus on his freshman studies before going out for the team.
Torres’ loyalty to the people he cared about showed – he would be the first to the side of a teammate who was injured on the field, Castellano said.
Torres’ friends and teammates reciprocated, the coach said. When Torres was hurt during a weekend tournament, “I kind of waved one of his friends over and 10 guys came over to help him up,” Castellano said.
Castellano said he was so shocked to hear about the stabbing that he couldn’t believe it until he called Torres’ brother to confirm the news.
“He had so much potential to do so many things,” Castellano said. “I loved Bryan a lot, and he’s somebody I’m never going to forget.”
A fundraising page for Torres’ family has been set up at www.gofundme.com/67yhd36s.
Police asked that anyone with information about the stabbing call detectives at (714) 245-8390.
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