Bermuda Post

Thursday, Apr 25, 2024

A Man Was Fatally Shot At A Black Lives Matter Protest In Texas

A Man Was Fatally Shot At A Black Lives Matter Protest In Texas

Garrett Foster had protested "almost every day for the past 50 days" with his fiancé, Foster's mother said.

A man was killed Saturday night after gunshots were fired at a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas.

A suspect - who witnesses said tried to drive through the crowd of protesters before shooting the victim - was arrested Saturday night and is cooperating with officers, the Austin Police Department said.

The victim was brought to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No one else was injured during the incident, authorities said.

The victim was identified by family and friends as Garrett Foster, an Austin resident who was protesting along with his fiancé, Whitney Mitchell, who is a quadruple amputee.

It is not yet clear what led to the shooting, and police have not identified the suspect.

A police official said Saturday that Foster "may have been carrying a rifle and approached suspect vehicle."

The suspect then shot at the victim from his car, the official said.

Shortly before he was killed, journalist Hiram Gilberto Garcia interviewed Foster, who was reportedly carrying an AK-47 rifle. During the interview, Foster said that he began bringing his gun to protests after his roommate was arrested during one of them.

Openly carrying firearms in public places is legal in Texas, as long as it is not done "in a manner calculated to alarm," according to state law.

"They don’t let us march in the streets anymore, so I got to practice some of our rights," Foster said in the interview that was broadcast live on Periscope.

"I mean, if I use it against the cops, I'm dead, and I think all the people that hate us and want to say shit to us are too big of pussies to stop and actually do anything about it," Foster said.

Hours later, the same journalist who interviewed Foster captured footage of the chaotic scene after he was fatally shot, including the sound of several gunshots.

"A car drove up - we were taking the streets - and he shot Garrett," an unnamed protester said in Garcia's video.

The protester said Foster was Mitchell's "caretaker, and has been for like ten years."

A witness, Michael Capochiano, told the New York Times that he saw the suspect's car veer toward the crowd before the shooting, causing people to run away in fear.

“You could hear the wheels squealing from hitting the accelerator so fast,” Capochiano, 53, said. “I’m a little surprised that nobody got hit. He was driving at an aggressive speed into the crowd.”

The driver stopped after hitting a traffic cone, Capochiano said, and many protesters approached the vehicle to yell at him. Foster also approached the car, with his rifle pointing downwards, according to Capochiano.

“He was not aiming the gun or doing anything aggressive with the gun,” Capochiano told the Times. “He was not holding it in an aggressive manner... I’m not sure if there was much of an exchange of words. It wasn’t like there was any sort of verbal altercations. He wasn’t charging at the car. He was just walking over there.”

After Foster's death, protesters gathered to mourn and comfort Mitchell, according to video captured by the Austin Statesman.

"Say his name: Garrett Foster," the protesters chanted, as many hugged Mitchell.


Foster's mother, Sheila Foster, told Good Morning America that her son and Mitchell had been together since they were 17. They attended the protest together, as they had "almost every day for the past 50 days," she said.

Mitchell, who Foster was pushing in her wheelchair at the time of the shooting, was not hurt, she added.

Sheila Foster said her son cared deeply about standing up against police brutality and racism, in part because of his relationship with Mitchell, who is Black.

"He was doing it because he feels really strongly about justice and he’s very heavily against police brutality and he wanted to support his fiancé," she said.

Responding to reports that Foster was armed at the protest, his mother said she thinks that may have been possible.

"It wouldn’t surprise me, because he does have a license to carry, and he would’ve felt the need to protect himself," she said.

A GoFundMe to cover funeral costs for Foster, which was organized by Mitchell's mother, Patricia Kirven, has raised over $40,000.

Foster "fought against injustice, served in the military, and was fiercely protective of his fiancée," Kirven wrote.

"They fell in love at 17 and were never apart," she wrote.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×