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Texas attorneys announced they will not press charges on the man who fatally shot a minor during a shootout in August.
Two groups made up of young adults and teens met up in Buda, Texas in early August. The groups intended to fight each other in a gang-style fistfight.
Gunfight Among Minors
A 21-year-old man found himself in a fight with an unidentified minor. According to Fox7, the minor’s cousin, 17-year-old Erick Marin, pulled a gun on the 21-year-old.
Videos posted online show that Marin shot in the direction of the 21-year-old. Then, multiple others drew firearms as well and began shooting.
The 21-year-old got his hands on a gun and shot Marin, effectively stopping the fight. Police responded to a 911 call of a shot fired. They found Marin there, in a drainage ditch.
Ghastly Aftermath
Marin died shortly after the fight. His family expressed distress and confusion over his involvement in the fight. Marin’s mom, Anna Mendivil, spoke to KVUE about her son.
“This argument was about family,” Mendivil said. “He was protecting his siblings.” She described her son as a boy who took care of people. “It wasn’t about drugs. It wasn’t about money.”
Mendivil was adamant. “It was about family. That’s how loyal my son was to his family. He gave up his life for his sister’s.”
Acting In Defense Of Another Minor
When others showed her the video of the fight, Mendivil argued that her son had acted in the defense of others. According to Mendivil, one of the other minors in the fight was Marin’s younger sister.
In the aftermath of the fistfight turned gunfight, police had a lot of investigative work to do. They successfully identified all of the youths involved there that day.
Authorities have not publicly announced any identities besides Marin.
The Shooter
The biggest question was what would happen to the 21-year-old who shot Marin?
After diving into the details of the case and Texas law, the county made a choice. Under their interpretation of Texan law, the 21-year-old had acted in self-defense. He is not receiving any charges as of right now.
Specifically, the “no-bill” vote, or decision to drop charges, came from the Hayes County Grand Jury.
We Don’t Always Agree
This decision is upsetting to many, including Mendivil. “I don’t understand why the one that’s the 21-year-old, why he’s not the one getting charged with murder,” she said. “I don’t believe in the justice system right now. It’s kind of hard to.”
The mother says she lives in fear now that the other youths will come after her family.
READ MORE: Missouri Homeowner Fatally Shoots Burglar, Receives No Charges
“It’s hard to see that, when you know it’s your kid, and it’s hard to keep getting videos of them mocking my son’s death, laughing about it,” she told CBS Austin.
Who Was Right?
Terrible things happened that day. It affected more than one life or family. We know that some people will argue that the gun is the issue in the scenario.
But if we are to believe reports, the 21-year-old who shot Marin didn’t even own a gun. It does not appear that he intended this type of harm to anyone.
Do you agree with the decision the jury made?
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Self defense. Her son, Erick Marin, pulled a gun in a fist fight and shot at the 21 year old.
shame they all didn’t kill each other
I feel for the mother who lost a child. A parent will to defend a child but he was 17 years old and had a gun on him…at a fist fight. He pulled the gun and fired at somebody. He wasn’t that good. The 21 year old in this article, it seems, was unarmed and got ahold of a firearm to protect himself. If the 17 year old wanted to protect his younger sister, he would have made sure she wasn’t there to begin with.
Don’t pull a gun in a fist fight.