A bond of $1 million has been set for a Houston man, Gonzalo Leon Jr., charged with the murder of Julian Guzman, an 11-year-old boy, who was shot while playing ding dong ditch.
The incident took place last Saturday near Leon’s home in East Houston. Authorities report that Leon, a U.S. Army veteran, was waiting in the dark when Guzman and his cousin knocked on his door for the final time. After several previous attempts, where they rang and ran away, Leon allegedly emerged and opened fire, striking Guzman in the back as he fled. This information, reported by Click2Houston, reveals an aftermath where Guzman collapsed about a block away and later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
During the bond hearing, the defense requested a significantly lower $100,000 bond, suggesting Leon was only at a hotel due to media presence outside his home, and not fleeing as presumed. The defense emphasized Leon's status as a disabled veteran who served from 2013 to 2021 and was enrolled in college, as detailed by FOX26 Houston. However, the state argued for the higher bond noting the severity of the accusation: the intentional killing of a young child for a trivial reason, a doorbell prank.
The victim, Julian Guzman, was a student at Galena Park Middle School and was attending a family birthday party nearby before the incident. "We are deeply saddened to inform you that one of our students passed away Saturday night. This news is understandably devastating, and this tragedy will deeply affect the Galena Park Middle School and Galena Park ISD communities," shared the school principal in a letter to parents, while assuring that counselors would be made available to students and staff, as per report by FOX26 Houston.
Pushing back against online speculation, District Attorney Sean Teare clarified that Guzman and his cousin were not engaging in a more menacing social media challenge, but were merely ringing the doorbell and running away. According to FOX26 Houston, Teare stressed, "Kids have been doing this for decades." Records indicate that Leon, who, has a young child himself and over 20 firearms in his home at the time of the incident, did not make a statement to investigators following his arrest.
