A Texas teenager is “literally fighting for his life,” his attorney said, after being shot by a San Antonio police officer identified as James Brennand.
The 17-year-old, Erik Cantu, was shot on Oct. 2 while inside his car in a McDonald’s parking.
“We need all the blessings we can receive at this time,” the teen’s attorney, Brian Powers, told CNN over the weekend.
“We kindly ask for privacy beyond this update as this is a delicate moment in our lives, and we are focusing on one thing and that’s getting him home.”
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The shooting occurred after Brennand, who was in the area for an unrelated disturbance, approached the car, believing it was a vehicle that fled the previous night.
“The Officer abruptly opened the driver’s door and ordered the driver out of the car,” the San Antonio Police Department said last Wednesday. “The officer reported that he was hit by the open door as the driver started to reverse the vehicle. The officer then stepped back and opened fire on the vehicle as the driver continued to reverse away from him.”
Brennand, who has since been fired, allegedly shot his gun several more times as the car fled. The driver suffered “multiple gunshot wounds,” the police department said. A passenger was not wounded.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said “the facts and evidence we have received so far led us to reject the charges” against the teenager, who reportedly originally faced charges relating to evading detention and assaulting an officer.
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