He was a pleasant charmer often called a bit of “ladies’ man.” A gregarious Houston boy who beloved cooking as a lot as he adored sports activities and video video games.
But as a substitute of enjoying soccer along with his associates, 11-year-old Julián Guzman will likely be laid to relaxation Saturday – precisely one week after a well-liked youngsters’s prank ended with a fatal gunshot wound to his again.
“Julian brought immeasurable joy and light into the lives of everyone who knew him,” his obituary states.
“He had a big fascination for dropped trucks. Known affectionately as a little ‘ladies’ man,’ he had a special way of charming everyone around him with his kindness, humor, and a big heart.”
While Julián’s household prepares for his funeral, one other household awaits the destiny of a father and Army veteran accused of killing the younger boy.
On the final evening of his life, Julián and his 10-year-old cousin received bored at a household celebration Saturday and ventured out to knock on individuals’s doorways earlier than operating away.
“They stopped wanting to hang out with the rest of the family and wanted to go be kids,” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare instructed NCS.
The prank, often called “ding dong ditching,” has been round for ages. But in recent times, the stunt has gained renewed popularity on social media. TikTok movies usually characteristic variations the place pranksters pound on or kick individuals’s entrance doorways.
TikTok has not responded to NCS’s questions on when the firm first discovered “ding dong ditch” pranks were leading to physical harm or whether or not the platform has taken any motion to limit such posts.
The two boys knocked on the doorways of a number of properties earlier than reaching the home at the finish of the avenue – the blue, two-story residence of Gonzalo Leon Jr. The Army veteran was at residence along with his spouse and 2-year-old daughter, courtroom paperwork state.
The boys knocked on Leon’s door a number of instances and ran away, Julián’s cousin instructed police. He then “saw a male dressed in black” emerge, step out of the home and shoot of their route, courtroom information say.
The man shot as soon as into the floor. Then he raised the pistol and fired a second shot – this time, into Julián’s again, his cousin stated.
The boy cried out in ache and collapsed to the floor, screaming for assist.
The suspect “actually stood at a stop sign when he was shooting – or at or near a stop sign – when he shot in the direction of his victim,” prosecutor John Brewer stated.
The 10-year-old cousin instructed police he dragged Julián’s wounded physique “Army” model “because he believed that his legs were paralyzed.”
Julián died the next day “while being treated for a gunshot wound to his back,” a Houston police detective wrote.
“He was just a child. He harmed no one,” his mom, Janet Rodriguez, wrote in a verified GoFundMe for her son. “They took my child, my baby, at such a young age. We had a whole life ahead of us. He didn’t deserve this.”
Investigators questioned Leon over the weekend, however the 42-year-old father wasn’t arrested till Monday – after authorities decided they’d sufficient possible trigger to cost him with homicide.
A SWAT staff captured Leon at a La Quinta resort in La Porte, about 20 miles away from his home, Brewer stated.
“Police reported that he had a large amount of clothes with him,” the prosecutor stated. “Moving to a motel or going to a motel 20 miles away from their house is also consistent with preparing to, perhaps, flee the jurisdiction.”
But Leon’s legal professional stated his consumer had motive to remain at the resort.
“There’s been ample news coverage over this. It would be our contention that news media has been around their house right after this incident, as he was not arrested at that time,” protection legal professional Gianpaolo Macerola stated.
“At that point, considering he has a very, very young child – 2 years old – they went to a La Quinta that is close by the college that he’s enrolled in, the San Jacinto Maritime Center, approximately … 2 miles away from the La Quinta,” Macerola stated.
“He had clothes with him because he didn’t know how long it was going to take.”
A choose denied the protection staff’s request to set the bond at $100,000 and dominated in favor of the prosecution, setting bond at $1 million.
Leon stays in jail Thursday morning. He will likely be arraigned on October 21, in line with courtroom information.
Julián leaves behind two dad and mom, two brothers and “many friends and relatives who will forever hold him close in their hearts,” his obituary says.
A visitation and rosary service for Julián will happen Friday at the Funeraria Del Angel Crespo in Houston.
A chapel service and committal service will observe on Saturday.
Though Julián “left this world too soon at the age of 11,” his obituary says, he “will always be remembered for his bright smile, his playful spirit, and the joy he brought into every room he entered.”
NCS’s Ashley Killough, Ed Lavandera, Chuck Johnston and Danya Gainor contributed to this report.