San Diego police have arrested a suspect in the murder of a Cathedral Catholic High School teacher.
The arrest was announced Tuesday morning just over 24 hours after Mario Fierro was found shot to death in North Park. Police say 30-year-old Jesse Alvarez was taken into custody Monday night and is being held in the downtown jail and is being charged with murder. SDPD investigators say Alvarez had dated the victim's fiance, but details of what led to the shooting were not immediately released.
The deadly shooting was reported early Monday morning in the 4500 block of Kansas Street; responding officers arrived to find a man with a gunshot wound.
In a letter sent to Cathedral Catholic High School families, school officials said “Everyone in our school community mourns his loss,” school officials said. “Obviously, this is a shock. Our prayers go out to Mario’s friends and family.”
In a statement, spokesperson for the Diocese of San Diego Kevin Eckery said Fierro returned to CCHS in 2016 to teach social science, after graduating from the high school in 2002.
(Photo provided by San Diego Catholic Diocese)