The family of Erik Cantu, a 17-year-old who was shot several times in a McDonald’s parking lot by a rookie San Antonio, Texas, police officer, has spoken out about his severe injuries.
Erik was shot three weeks ago when he backed his vehicle away from the officer as he ate a burger.
He remains in hospital and his condition is “very touch and go,” his father Eric Cantu has said.
“He is getting slightly better, his wounds are healing, but the wounds that he’s endured, they are great, there’s a lot of them,” Mr Cantu said during a press briefing on Tuesday. It was the first time the family has spoken publically since the shooting, The Associated Press reported.
The family is represented by civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who has represented families in some of the most high-profile police killings of Black people, including George Floyd.
He said Erik’s family has been told that officer James Brennand, who has since been fired, racially profiled the teenager because he was searching for a suspect described as Hispanic.
Erik was shot on 2 October, after which Mr Brennand, 27, was removed from the police force. He now faces two counts of aggravated assault by a public official. The second count is for the unharmed person in the passenger seat at the time of the shooting. The former officer has been released from jail on bond.
Police have said that Mr Brennand didn’t follow official procedure after he had walked up to Erik’s vehicle.
Bodycam footage has been released by police, showing Mr Brennand opening the door and telling Erik to exit the car. With the door still open, the car reverses and Mr Brennand fires his gun several times towards the car. As the vehicle drives away, he continues shooting.
According to police, Mr Brennand was responding to a separate incident when he spotted Erik in a car that he thought had gotten away from him the previous day when he attempted to perform a traffic stop. The officer said he believed the car to be stolen.
Police have said that while the car wasn’t stolen, the plates didn’t match the vehicle.
According to Mr Crump, the Bexar County district attorney told Erik’s family that Mr Brennand was searching for a Hispanic teenager with a bowl haircut and that he racially profiled the 17-year-old.
“This is the part that hurts, is that he was profiled and he was violently injured over it,” Mr Cantu said during the press briefing.
The office of the DA has said that it doesn’t comment on ongoing cases, according to The Associated Press.
Mr Crump said Erik “is continuing to fight for his life on life support”.
Erik’s mother Victoria Casarez told reporters that four bullets were discovered in his body and that one of them was located close to his heart.
The bullet near his heart remains in his body.
“They’re unable to get that out right now. It would do more harm than good,” she said.
She added that his stomach, diaphragm, lungs, liver, and arm also suffered injuries.
“He’s just mutilated and it hurts us to see our son this way,” Ms Casarez said.
“Erik is not our Erik,” Mr Cantu said, adding that he has had a tracheotomy and is on strong medication, according to NBC News. “As the doctors try to wean him off these things in the last few days, it doesn’t seem to counteract as the way we anticipated. Therefore, those little steps we see daily, we just keep going back.”
