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Thread: Community mourns Garrett Foster (28) who was fatally shot during downtown Austin protest

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    Community mourns Garrett Foster (28) who was fatally shot during downtown Austin protest

    https://www.kxan.com/top-stories/com...ustin-protest/

    AUSTIN (KXAN) ? *Note for the live stream, as this is a live event, there may be graphic or sensitive language used in the video*

    Less than 24 hours after 28-year-old Garrett Foster was fatally shot during a protest in downtown Austin, memorials for him continue to appear around the city.

    Earlier on Sunday, flowers and signs mourning Foster?s life were set up in front of Austin Police headquarters and at the intersection where he was shot.

    From 7 p.m. Sunday night onward, people are expected to gather for a vigil for Foster at that same intersection. KXAN will be reporting live from this location.

    Police confirmed Sunday evening that Foster was shot multiple times after a car turned into a group of demonstrators at 4th Street and Congress Avenue. The driver of that car told police they had fired a handgun at someone who approached their driver-side window and pointed an assault-type weapon at them. Demonstrators who were present that night, however, tell KXAN this driver ?aggressively accelerated? into the crowd of people.

    A GoFundMe account for Foster has been created, noting that he leaves behind a disabled fianc?e who uses a wheelchair. The two had been at the protest Saturday night, the GoFundMe account says. As of this update, the fund has gathered more than $96,000 in donations.

    In a briefing for the press Sunday evening, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley confirmed Foster?s death as a result of the shooting and laid out some details on what police know so far.

    Manley said that APD officers were out monitoring downtown protests when they heard two separate volleys of gunfire in the area, just as 911 received multiple calls from that area.

    Officers working the protest moved to the area of the gunfire, Manley said, and found Foster with multiple gunshot wounds. Austin Police and Austin Fire attempted to resuscitate Foster, then Austin-Travis County EMS transported him to Dell Seton Medical Center.
    A person pays their respects July 26 at a memorial to Garrett Foster set up in front of the Austin Police Department headquarters. (KXAN Photo/ Todd Bynum).

    Manley said that Foster succumbed to his wounds, and was pronounced deceased at the hospital at 10:25 p.m.

    One of the people who called 911, Manley said, was a person who said that someone had approached the driver side window of the vehicle they were driving and pointed a rifle at them. The caller said they had driven away from the scene and was instructed to pull over. This caller was brought to APD?s homicide office to be interviewed, Manley said, and this person?s handgun and vehicle were secured by APD as evidence.

    Manley noted that witnesses on the scene described to officers several different versions of the incident.

    He summarized that witnesses told APD a vehicle began honking its horn as it turned south onto Congress Avenue from 4th Street. He said the vehicle stopped ?as there were a large number of people in the roadway.?

    Manley said that Foster, who was holding an AK47-type assault rifle, approached the driver side window of this car as others in the crowd began striking the car.
    People gather to set candles in memory of Garrett Foster at 4th Street and Congress Ave in Austin on July 26, 2020. (KXAN Photo/ Andrew Choat).

    ?Gunshots were fired from inside the vehicle at Mr. Foster,? Manley said. ?During the initial investigation of this incident, it appears Mr. Foster may have pointed his rifle at the driver of this vehicle prior to being shot.?

    Another individual told APD that after that first volley of gunfire and seeing this car drive away from the crowd, they drew their concealed handgun and fired multiple shots at the car. Manley said this individual was also brought to the homicide office to be interviewed, and their handgun, along with Foster?s rifle, were also taken into evidence.

    Both the driver of the vehicle who fired at Foster and the individual who fired at the car later on have been released ?pending further investigation,? Manley said. He also noted that both people have concealed handgun licenses.

    The Travis County Medical Examiner?s office will be carrying out an autopsy to determine Foster?s cause and manner of death, Manley said.

    ?It is important that the community come forward and help us with this investigation,? Manley said.
    Candles places at 4th Street and Congress Avenue as part of a memorial to Garrett Foster on July 26, 2020. KXNA Photo/ Ed Zavala.

    He urged anyone with photos or videos of this incident to share them so they can be included in APD?s investigation. The department is asking anyone with photos or videos of this incident to call APD Homicide at 512-974-TIPS, the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip-line at 512-472-8477, use the new CrimeStoppers app or email APD homicide homicide.apd@austintexas.gov.

    Manley emphasized that those who submit tips may remain anonymous.

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    https://abc7.com/austin-shooting-dow...urder/6335183/

    AUSTIN, Texas -- A Facebook Live broadcast of a protest march through downtown Austin late Saturday night captured the sound of multiple gunshots going off and people running in a panic.

    One man died in the gunfire when he approached a vehicle, according to Austin police. "Good Morning America" identified the victim as Garrett Foster.

    The video, taken by journalist Hiram Gilberto, shows the march entering an intersection before some sort of commotion takes place in the middle of the crowd. Then, at least five shots are heard in quick succession.

    A witness told the Austin American-Statesman that a driver honked and sped toward protesters before opening fire. Foster was taken to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

    Foster was carrying a rifle, according to one witness. He approached the vehicle and was shot by the driver. The driver then drove away, witnesses said.

    "GMA" spoke to Garrett's mother, Sheila Foster, who has a different account of what happened.

    She said he had attended many peaceful protests with his fiancee Whitney Mitchell, a quadruple amputee. Sheila Foster said her son was pushing Mitchell's wheelchair moments before the shooting.

    "And this gentleman got out of his car and started firing shots, and my son was shot three times," she said. Austin police spokesperson Katrina Ratliff told reporters a suspect was detained and was cooperating with police.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...ooting-austin/

    The protesters were crossing Fourth Street on Congress Avenue in downtown Austin on Saturday night when a motorist sped toward the crowd and laid on the horn. Most of the Black Lives Matter marchers scattered, but not Garrett Foster. The 28-year-old white man wearing a military green T-shirt, baseball cap, black bandanna and an AK-47 type assault rifle strapped across his chest approached the driver’s side window.

    Seconds later, the driver fired five shots and sped off, leaving Foster to bleed out.

    On Sunday, Austin police said they had interviewed the driver, who had turned himself in after fleeing the scene. The man had a license for his handgun and claimed he fired after Foster pointed his weapon at the car. The police, who declined to identify the driver, released the man as they continue investigating.

    “We are heartbroken over the loss of Mr. Foster last night,” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley told reporters. “It is actively being investigated and ongoing in conjunction with the Travis County district attorney’s office.”

    Foster’s family on Sunday said he served in the military and described him as a man committed to social justice, who had peacefully protested almost every night over the past 50 days with his fiancee, an African American woman who is a quadruple amputee.

    “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 fiancee,” Sheila Foster told “Good Morning America Weekend” on Sunday.

    Foster’s death comes as more Black Lives Matter protesters are showing up armed to demonstrations nationwide, raising concerns about confrontations with police and armed counterprotesters. In Louisville on Saturday, hundreds of activists marched the streets of Breonna Taylor’s hometown carrying assault rifles and demanding charges against the police officers who fatally shot her in March. The group was met with counterprotests from an armed white militia. Police, dressed in full riot gear, kept them apart.

    In Texas, where open carry is legal, it’s not uncommon to see armed protesters.

    But Foster only recently began carrying a firearm to the protests against police brutality, where he accompanied his fiancee, Whitney Mitchell, who uses a wheelchair. In an interview earlier on Saturday with Hiram Gilberto Garcia, an independent journalist who was streaming the protest on Periscope, Foster said he started to bring the weapon after his roommate was arrested for protesting.

    “They don’t let us march in the streets anymore, so I got to practice some of our rights,” he said. But Foster said he understood the limitations of having a weapon in these circumstances. “If I use it against the cops, I’m dead,” he added.

    Foster was pushing Mitchell’s wheelchair on Saturday night when the driver turned into the crowd of protesters just before 10 p.m.

    Investigators heard conflicting reports of what happened next, Manley told reporters on Sunday.

    “His account is that Mr. Foster pointed the weapon directly at him and he fired his handgun at Mr. Foster,” Manley said of the driver.

    But other witnesses told police that Foster didn’t threaten the driver with his weapon. Witnesses told the Austin American-Statesman Foster had his weapon pointed down.

    “He was not aiming the gun or doing anything aggressive with the gun,” Michael Capochiano, a witness, told the New York Times. “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.”

    Sheila Foster told “Good Morning America” the motorist shot her son three times before driving off. Noticing he was getting away, a witness pulled out a handgun and shot at the car as it drove away.
    Minutes later, the driver called 911 and turned himself in, saying he had “just been involved in a shooting and driven away from the scene,” Manley said.

    Officers also brought in the second gunman who shot at the car as it sped off. Both were released from police custody after giving their statements and officers seized the handguns as evidence. Manley also stated that they both had a license to carry.

    A vigil was held for Foster on Sunday evening and a memorial of flowers and candles was placed at the corner of Fourth and Congress. The crowd chanted, “Say his name … Garrett Foster.” And a GoFundMe page has raised more than $100,000 as of early Monday.

    Foster’s sudden death has been especially traumatizing for Mitchell, her mother, Patricia Kirven, told the Dallas Morning News. The couple got engaged when they were 18, a month before an infection caused Mitchell to lose her arms and legs. Friends of Mitchell who witnessed the incident told Kirven that Foster had jumped in front of her, fearing she was a target.

    “They thought the person was aiming at her because she is a sitting duck,” she said.

    After Foster was shot, Mitchell called her mother frantically telling her he was shot.

    “She physically is okay, but mentally she is not,” Kirven told the Morning News. "‘Inconsolable’ is the only word I can think of.”


    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ee/5516891002/

    AUSTIN, Texas — Garrett Foster, who was shot to death during a downtown Austin protest Saturday night, was remembered as a man dedicated to exercising his Second Amendment rights, stamping out racial injustice and caring for his fianc?e, according to family and friends.

    The incident leading up to the 28-year-old’s death began about 9:50 p.m. when a driver honked his horn and turned right onto a street where there was a crowd of protesters, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said Sunday.

    Several protesters — including Foster, who was holding an assault rifle — approached the car, Manley said. He said the driver reported that Foster pointed the weapon at him. The driver then pointed his handgun outside the window, fired multiple shots and drove away, Manley said.

    Someone else in the crowd opened fire on the car as it drove off, Manley said.

    First responders performed CPR on Foster, but he died at Dell Seton Medical Center less than an hour after the shooting, officials said. No other injuries were reported.

    Austin police said they detained the person who fired the fatal shots, and he cooperated with investigators. He has been released, along with the second shooter, Manley said.

    Witnesses who attended the protest told the American-Statesman that the driver appeared to drive into the crowd and came to a stop when the vehicle hit an orange barrier. They also said Foster had his weapon pointed down.

    Manley would not say why the driver was originally at the scene of the protest.

    In a Facebook Live video of the hourslong march, a car’s honking is heard before two volleys of gunshots, a total of eight rounds, are unleashed. Several screaming protesters immediately take cover.

    “We are heartbroken over the loss of Mr. Foster last night. It is actively being investigated ... in conjunction with the Travis County district attorney’s office,” Manley said.

    Foster grew up in Plano and had been living in Austin with his fianc?e, Whitney Mitchell, for about two years. Mitchell was at the protest in a wheelchair with him at the time, and the two had been to such events in downtown Austin against police violence for months, according to protesters and Foster’s family.

    Mitchell is Black and Foster is white, and issues of racial injustice were incredibly important to him, his family said.

    “They’ve experienced so much hate just for their relationship in general,” said his sister, Anna Mayo. “From day one, he’s fought to end that.”

    Mitchell and Foster started dating about a decade ago. Foster enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in his late teens and had to leave for basic training two months after Mitchell had all four of her limbs amputated after she developed a medical condition that led to sepsis.

    Foster worked in the Air Force as a flight mechanic until he was 19, when he was discharged to be Mitchell’s full-time caretaker, his family said.

    “That time when he was gone was so detrimental to both of them, because they were very much in love, and he had cared for her so well,” his aunt Karen Sourber said. “He’s been her primary caretaker ever since. He just loved her unconditionally and took care of everything.”

    Protesters said they got to know the couple well throughout the many protests this summer.

    “A lot of us haven’t slept — I haven’t been asleep,” protester Julian Salazar, who witnessed the shooting, said Sunday morning. “It’s been heartbreaking. A lot of us are angry, depressed, sad to learn that his (fianc?e) now is going to be struggling. The one person she had here in Austin, who was always going to be there for her, is now gone.”

    Foster often talked to protesters about his rifle, which he brought to the protests, Salazar said. Mayo said Second Amendment rights were important to him.


    “My brother would have never, ever pointed a gun at somebody,” Mayo said. “He always carried his guns with him. He had a license to carry in Texas — we’re an open carry state. He always would exercise his right to carry, but he would never threaten somebody. He was one of the most kindhearted people — that was the whole reason he was out there.”

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