A 26-year-old woman from Texas was shot and killed by her boyfriend after traveling to another state to get an abortion, Dallas police said. He was jailed on a murder charge as of Friday.
Texas banned abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy in September 2021. But nearly all abortions have been halted in Texas since Roe v Wade was overturned last summer, except in cases of medical emergencies.
Suspect Fatally Shot Victim A Day After She Returned from Colorado
Gabriella Gonzalez was with her boyfriend, Harold Thompson, 22, in a Dallas parking lot Wednesday when he tried to put her in a chokehold, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. She had returned from Colorado the night before.
"It is believed that the suspect was the father of the child," the affidavit said. "The suspect did not want (Gonzalez) to get an abortion."
Surveillance video from the parking lot shows Gonzalez "shrugs him off", police said, and the two continue walking. Thompson then pulls out a gun and shoots Gonzalez in the head. She falls to the ground and Thompson shoots her multiple times before running away, the affidavit said.
Thompson was Already Facing Charges for Assaulting Gonzalez
Thompson was arrested later Wednesday and is being held in the Dallas county jail without bond. Gonzalez's sister was at the scene and heard the shooting, police said. Another witness saw Thompson try to choke Gonzalez but couldn't call police because she did not have her cell phone.
At the time of the shooting, Thompson had been charged with assaulting Gonzalez, who accused him of choking her in March.
The arrest affidavit says Thompson "beat her up multiple times throughout the entirety of their relationship" and Gonzalez "reiterated that she is scared of the suspect because he had made threats to harm her family and her children."
Gonzalez' Family Never Heard Back from Dallas Police After Filing Report
Gonzalez' mother said that report was officially filed in March by her family but they never heard back from Dallas Police after multiple attempts.
"I looked at her beaten, he no longer let her talk to anyone, he took everything from her," Gonzalez' mother told NBC 5 in Spanish. "He took his phone, he managed everything for her. She was scared."
Gonzalez leaves three young children behind.
