(Houston) Police charged a Houston man for the murder of an 11 -year -old boy who had hit the door of a house and fled to make a stuffing, police said on Tuesday.
The 42 -year -old man, identified by the authorities as Gonzalo Leon Jr., was placed in detention and imprisoned in Harris County prison in Houston, early Tuesday morning. According to local land registers, Leon corresponds to the name of the owner of the house where, according to the police, the boy struck at the door.
Judicial files do not mention any lawyer representing Leon to comment on allegations.
The boy, Julian Guzman, and a cousin attended a birthday party on Saturday evening when they “got bored and wanted to ring at the doors or play” divert “”, according to a statement under oath establishing the reasonable reasons. The farce consists in ringing or knocking on a door and fleeing before someone inside opens the door.
In recent months, police services across the country have published messages of public interest warning the population that such acts are not funny, but dangerous. The owners have no way of knowing that it is “just a farce”, according to a message published in June on Facebook by the Georgetown police service, in Kentucky.
Photo David J. Phillip, Associated Press
About half-past of houses from the suspect’s home and the place where Guzman collapsed after being killed, an improvised memorial was erected with a cross, prayer candles, flowers and a photo of the boy.
Guzman’s cousin told investigators that he and Guzman had hit Leon’s door several times before fleeing. In a first statement, the police said that Guzman had sounded at the door, but the statement under the oath specifies that the boy struck.
The last time he and his cousin struck, Leon came out with a pistol he used to shoot once in the ground. Leon then lifted the pistol and shot Guzman and his cousin, according to the oath declaration.
“Our witness says that the suspect came out through the door, fled to the street and shot in the direction of the road,” Sergeant Michael Cass, of the Houston police, to journalists, on Sunday.
According to the oath statement, Guzman’s cousin told the police that Guzman “cried out after being shot.” While Guzman’s cousin tried to drag the boy far from it, Leon is slowly returned home.
Guzman was hit in the back and died on Sunday, police said.
“In my opinion, this is nothing like a case of self -defense. It was not near the house, ”said Cass.
Police have found about twenty firearms at Leon’s home, including AR type rifles, hunting rifles and medium caliber pistols.
Texas and other states have adopted a version of the “doctrine of the castle”, either by law or by jurisprudence, which stipulates that residents are not required to retreat when threatened at home, but can on the contrary retaliate by physical force. If the Texan law gives great latitude to citizens to protect themselves, protect others or protect their goods, it must however be a reasonable conviction that the use of force is immediately necessary in the given situation.
Seth Kretzer, a lawyer for Houston who is not linked to the case, said that if the shooting had taken place as the police claims, Leon would not have solid arguments to invoke self -defense under the law of the state.
“You can’t just kill a child on the street because they have come to your door and claim that he threatened you. It is difficult to believe that an armed adult man felt threatened by an unarmed 11 -year -old child who was fled in the street, “said Kretzer.
About half-past of houses from the suspect’s home and the place where Guzman collapsed after being killed, an improvised memorial was erected with a cross, prayer candles, flowers and a photo of the boy.
Various messages were written on the cross, especially “I miss you Julian. I would still like you to be there, but I will always love you “and” I love you Julian. You will always be in my heart. Rest in peace, my baby. »»
Other pranks of the “Sound-written” type have already had fatal consequences in the past. In 2023, a man in southern California was sentenced for first degree murder after killing three teenagers by deliberately struck their car when they had rang at his door to make him a farce.
In May, a man from Virginia was accused of second degree murder for having shot an 18 -year -old who had struck his door when he was running a Tiktok video, according to the New York Times.
In Quebec
In 2024, a couple of Saint-Sauveur was accused of having kidnapped, kidnapped, threatened with death and strokes a teenager who participated in a game of “sound-written”.
After being partially acquitted, the couple had to undergo a second trial since the jury had not managed to agree on half of the charges. However, this trial was avoided after one of the accused pleaded guilty to a modified indictment. He received by two years minus one day in prison at home without probation.
With David J. Phillip, Associated Press
