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HAYS COUNTY -- A man has been arrested in the shooting death of a seven-year-old boy playing on a trampoline in his backyard in Hays County. Daniel Galicia later died at the hospital.

37-year-old Jose Barrera Espitia was taken into custody at his home at 3:45 Wednesday morning. The sheriff's office says a .22 caliber rifle found in his home about 200 yards away from the trampoline. Espitia is charged with manslaughter and is in the Hays County Jail. His bond has not been set.

Espitia says he was doing some target practice on a piece of wood at the time and didn't see the kids playing in the small community of Uhland Tuesday around 7:30 p.m.

"They [the children] heard what they thought were gun shots, got off the trampoline. They noticed this one boy was hurt."

Officials say a first 911 call was made to report that Galicia had been injured and fallen off the trampoline. A second 911 call was made after the family realized that Galicia had been shot.

Daniel's sister, Julianna Galicia, was at home when her younger brother was shot.

"My brother Enrique yelled and screamed, went to my house and everybody jumped and we ran as soon as possible to check on my brother [Daniel}. Then he wouldn't respond after we felt the pulse," Julianna says. Daniel was taken to Brackenridge Hospital in critical condition where he later died.

Authorities say Galicia lived in a home with 20 to 25 people. Those residents and neighbors tell authorities it's not unusual to hear gun shots.

"We're a rural county and people think it's okay, and sometimes it is. Shooting in the direction of other homes and where children play, that's not okay," Opiela says.

Besides the Hays County sheriff's Office, a Texas Ranger, the Kyle Parks and recreation department, plus fire and EMS personnel were on hand to help with the investigation. Between 20 to 30 extra officers were called in to help.

The Hays County Sheriff's office tells us the elementary school Galicia attended will have extra counselors there on Wednesday.

What a needless tragedy. I hope that guy gets the maximum sentence.


Who wrote this?

The sheriff's office says a .22 caliber rifle found in his home about 200 yards away from the trampoline.

Is that even a sentence?


media

This is definitely a sad story. It needs to remind the rest of us to always know where our bullets are going when we practice and/or target shoot.

txinvestigator wrote:Who wrote this?

The sheriff's office says a .22 caliber rifle found in his home about 200 yards away from the trampoline.

That story seems to be from the Austin channel 7 (Fox affiliate) web site. It has been corrected.

If you want to proof-read TV station web sites, it's an endless job.

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:
If you want to proof-read TV station web sites, it's an endless job.

- Jim

Ain't that the truth. MSNBC.COM has some of the funniest errors. The best was a story about Michael Jackson but featured a picture of Latoya Jackson. If you ask me, it was pretty accurate.

But back at the ranch...I read this story in the morning and instantly became enraged!!!! On so many levels!!!! My wife and I lost a baby years ago and ever since then, I'm very sensitive to stories about children being hurt and kidnapped...instant rage!!!!!! Then, we have another idiot providing more fodder for the anti's with respect to the idea civilians don't need guns.

I hope this guy goes down, and goes down HARD!!!!!

I don't suppose it matters....but, Austin is not in "Hays County".


Terrible thing to happen regardless of where it occurred though.

1. Every firearm is loaded.

2. Never point a loaded firearm at anything you're not willing to shoot.

3. Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it.

4. Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.



Our little marksman evidently violated not just one, but two of the Cardinal Rules of Gunhandling, and a little boy is now dead because of his stupidity

Throw the book at him. Then pick it up and throw it at him again.

We were talking about this at work, and everybody agreed - this was a tragic incident that was entirely preventable. Moron Number One was being stupid, evidently failing to realize that a 2x4 is most definitely NOT a "safe, secure backstop."

I've put arrows through 2x4s. A .22 bullet, travelling at much higher speeds, with much greater sectional density, will go through it like it's not even there.



Throw the book at him.

It's because of the possibilityof something like this happening that I don't pop pests (possums, skunks, armadillos, felis domesticus) in my yard . . . no matter how much I want to.

Rule 3, you know - infinitely more potential downside than there is upside.

It's because of the possibilityof something like this happening that I don't pop pests (possums, skunks, armadillos, felis domesticus) in my yard . . . no matter how much I want to.

Rule 3, you know - infinitely more potential downside than there is upside.

+1 on that Hankmeister!

Part of being a responsible gun owner is being mature enough to resist temptations. I was just sitting out on my driveway, Glock on my hip, and thinking how much fun it would be to shoot at some innocuous target. But, I laughed at myself thinking how foolish it would be and that little boy on the trampoline came into my head. I stopped chuckling and felt this emptiness in sympathy for that little boy's parents. Lord, what they must be going through.

We all should say a prayer for them tonight.

Please, be safe, be smart.

Six years ago I was house shopping in Central Texas, having relocated from RI. I wanted to get a place out in the country where I could shoot. So at every place I looked at, I would ask someone (the owner, the Realtor, etc.) whether shooting was allowed in the area. I remember one place I looked at, a 10 acre parcel with a decent house and a couple of tanks. I asked the owner if you could shoot there and he said, "Of course you can. I do it all the time." So I looked around the mostly flat landscape and asked, "Where do you do it?" He said, "Right over there.", and pointed to where I could see a tree with a piece of plywood nailed to it.

I didn't say any more, but I thought, "This guy's nuts!" Either that, or people sure are different around here. Everywhere I had ever shot outdoors in the Northeast, there was a high earthen berm for a backstop. I couldn't believe that someone on 10 acres would shoot at a piece of plywood.

I finally found a place in Smithville on 7.5 acres. A few months later, I picked out a likely spot, rented a big backhoe / front loader combo, and pushed up a decent berm around 8 feet high. I'd like it to be higher, but it was all the machine would do.

My nearest neighbor is around 300 yards behind the backstop, through dense woods. As long as I'm careful not to elevate the muzzle, I'm OK. That's where I practice bullseye at 25 yards. I also do some draws from a holster with my carry gun, but this is done from much closer range.

I've shot bullseye for many years and feel that I know what I'm doing, so I think I am safe with this setup. But I wouldn't want to break in a new shooter, unless under CLOSE supervision. (I'm an NRA certified instructor.)

These guys that shoot at pieces of wood are out of their minds.

thats soo dang sad.

My regular 100 km bike route goes about 1/4 mile from where this occurred. The area is somewhat rural, but there are lots of trailers and people in the area. On Easter Sunday when I was about 5 miles south of where this happened there were two people firing a center fire rifle (probably something like a 30-06 based on the sound) from their trailer porch into a cardboard box at the end of their driveway. The bullet path then went across the road and into a field that was bare for about 100 yds and bounded by trees beyond that. Two miles farther on there is a neighborhood and another mile or so is I35. I waited until they quite firing to check their target and then rode on up and suggested to them that what they were doing was both unsafe as they had no backstop and illegal as they were firing across a road and onto another's property. They did not seem really concerned, but decided they should quit. Some people just do not have a clue that the bullet travels beyond the cardboard box that they are using for a target.

Some people just don't know that the little 22 can fly that far and still hit with enough energy to injure. According to the various news the distance was 1/4 or 1/2 miles (http://keyetv.com/local/local_story_101180331.html).

This is where education can help; a lot of casual shooters just don't know how far a bullet can travel. I feel terrible for this boy's family and in some ways for the shooter,who according to the news is "devastated".

dave_in_austin wrote:My regular 100 km bike route goes about 1/4 mile from where this occurred. The area is somewhat rural, but there are lots of trailers and people in the area.

Uh huh . . . can make some assumptions there . . . sometimes stereotypes do fit.

Also saw a news story that the guy they arrested - Jose Espitia - lived in a house with 20-25 other people.

Edited: New photo and new text.

(Sorry, I saw the round thing across the street and assumed that was the trampoline in question).

Since the address of the shooter, (1905), and the address of the 7-year-old, (1939), are both odd, they are on the same side of the street.

From house to house is a little less than 200 yards.

I don't understand why the guy would be shooting in that direction to begin with, or at all, with all the neighboring houses around there.

Tragic and stupid.

So it's either a ricochet, even through what appears to be a section of dense trees between the houses, or the shooter thought the trees would be a good backstop.