HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A 42-year-old man is charged murder after he allegedly shot an 11-year-old boy who was playing the “ding dong ditch” game with his Saturday night.
Gonzalo Leon Jr. is accused of fatally shooting 11-year-old Julian Guzman on Saturday night.
Court records show that Guzman, his cousin, and some other friends were at a relative’s house on Racine street attending a birthday party. The boys got bored and decided to play the “ding dong ditch” game around the neighborhood.
Guzman and his cousin was ringing doorbells of homes in the area and running away. A witness said Guzman had run to Leon’s home, rang the door bell several times and began to run away.
Court records show that’s when Leon allegedly walked out of his house, onto a public street, pointed a gun, and fired.
“There was no weapon displayed (by the boy,)” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said. “No theft of property, the young man was shot in the back, on a public street. It’s a murder.”
Julian was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Sunday.
Leon was initially detained by police Saturday night. Records show he would not talk to police, and asked for a lawyer. Among several reasons that prosecutors could not immediately charge Leon, was that the eyewitness did not identify him as the shooter.
“One of the initial issues is that we had a negative ID,” Teare said. “But that’s explained in any case where you just had a young man who just watched his cousin get gunned down, and show him 6 pictures to identify somebody.”
Court records show after Guzman died at the hospital, Houston Police homicide detectives took over the investigation, and for the next two days gathered additional evidence. This included detectives going inside Leon’s home with permission from his wife. Inside, they found a cache of weapons, including several AR 15 type guns.
By Tuesday morning, prosecutors had the probable cause to charge Leon with murder.
“Firearms is not the answer, whether you’re on the road, or in your neighborhood and angry,” Teare said. “Do not pull out a gun. If you do, bad things happen. This defendant is now facing a murder charge for being angry at an 11-year-old boy for being an 11-year-old boy.”
Leon is set to appear for a bond hearing on Wednesday morning in District Court. Prosecutors say they will ask for a million dollar bond.
Copyright © 2025 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.