Dad, 24, shot dead in car park while bringing daughter birthday cake

A dad has been shot and killed outside a restaurant as he was bringing in a cake for his little girl’s birthday.

Calogero Duenes, 24, was outside a Chuck E Cheese in the US state of Texas last Friday when he was involved in a dispute with another man, NBC reports.

The man pulled a gun on Mr Duenes and shot him.

Amber Uresti, Mr Duenes’s partner, told ABC he was trailing behind as she took their two daughters, aged 6 and 3, inside while he was retrieving the cake.

"I saw him walking towards us. I told the lady my husband was on his way. I pointed at him, and the instant I turned around, he came running in through the door and he kept saying, 'I got shot! I got shot!’” she told ABC.

She added her partner had no weapons on his person. Their six-year-old saw him fall to the ground, she said.

His sister-in-law Rosemarie Uresti told NBC the dad then stumbled inside the restaurant and collapsed.

• Horrific alleged abuse revealed after dad of missing girl is arrested

• Mafia figure on the run for 20 years caught out by Google Maps

• Teacher arrested after giving 17-year-old boy vaccine at her home

Police said the shooter had been driving the wrong way through the carpark and almost hit Mr Duenes. It is believed this is what led to the dispute.

Rosemarie told NBC her nieces will now have to grow up without a father.

“He was a good father. He did everything for them,” she said.

The shooter is yet to be found, police said.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.