AUSTIN, Texas — Grief and anger are resurfacing for families in Austin after 17-year-old Anthoneil Williams II was shot and killed by police late last month, prompting parents of people fatally shot by Austin officers to speak out and demand accountability.
Elizabeth Gonzales, whose son Alexander Gonzales Jr. was shot and killed by Austin police officers five years ago, said she cried for hours when she learned what happened to Williams.
“We don’t even call the police no more. What for? All they’re gonna do is either kill us, or I don’t know. We’re scared,” she said.
Sunday would have been Alexander Gonzales Jr.’s 32nd birthday. On that day, Elizabeth Gonzales returned to the place where she said Austin police shot and killed her son five years ago.
“There will be judgment day, okay? One day,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales and about a dozen other Austinites gathered to demand justice for those who have been killed by police officers. She said the shooting of Williams brought back painful memories.
“I cried. I cried, and I sent my condolences to my parents. You know, because I know the feeling of the pain. You wouldn’t ever, ever be the same. That person died that day,” Gonzales said.
Austin police said the shooting involving Williams happened July 24, after officers received a report of a kid with a gun in a southeast Austin park. When officers arrived, body camera video appears to show Williams reaching toward his waistband before raising his hands.
Officers opened fire, killing Williams.
“A young man lost his life. I cannot imagine the pain and the grief that his family is going through. And I want them to know that I’m thinking about them,” Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said.
Gonzales said sympathy is not enough.
“We got to stop this. I’ve got to be a voice, but for my son, and for other victims have been done wrong,” she said.
On Monday, local activist organization Dare to Struggle is expected to call for Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza to prosecute the officers who shot and killed Williams.