SAN ANTONIO — A Bexar County grand jury has failed to file any charges against the person who shot a homeless man to death last fall at a busy downtown corner.
The unblinking eye of a security camera across the street captured that event.
William Hawkins can be seen approaching a man in the parking lot of a convenience store, as if to ask for a handout.
The surveillance video shows that in just seven seconds, Hawkins fell to a gunshot. The man with the gun can then be seen stepping around the body on the ground, getting in his truck and driving away.
At the time, San Antonio Police said the gunman drove a short distance away and called authorities to report the incident, telling them he fired the shot because he felt threatened.
The shooting happened directly across the street from the Christian Assistance Ministry and Hawkins was well known by people who work at the nonprofit that provides services to the homeless.
“We just learned that they're not going to take this case to trial and no charges were going to be put upon anyone," Dawn White-Fosdick, who leads the group, said. "I don't know what the next steps are but it's very distressing for all of us.”
White-Fosdick said the young man who grew up locally and graduated from Clark High School.
“My perception is that his life is not as valuable as other lives," she said.
While admitting that there are people on the street who are dangerous, White-Fosdick said she and her colleagues never considered Hawkins a threat.
“Our experience with William was that he was a soft-spoken person, that he was an encourager. He was not aggressive,” White-Fosdick said. “We had a lot of interaction with him in this area and he would be the last person that I would expect this to happen to.”
At a time when the pandemic has forced many people out of shelters and into desperate situations, White-Fosdick said “It concerns us that someone who is vulnerable, on the street, could ask someone for money and that alone could get them shot.”
The fact that the shooting happened across the street from a homeless ministry, she said, is even more distressing.
“We just don't understand how that could warrant being allowed to call that self-defense, that someone walking up to you in broad daylight, at 10am, across the street from a place like ours, a busy gas station, in broad daylight, that that could warrant allowing someone to get murdered,” White-Fosdick said.
Further, White-Fosdick said they were concerned about justice from the outset because just moments after the incident, a San Antonio Police Department spokesperson held a media briefing and said that with preliminary information, it was unclear if charges would be filed.
“It was shocking for us to watch the news that day, just a few hours after he was killed, to learn that the police response was kind of like 'We're not sure we're going to charge anybody,'" White-Fosdick said. “It gave us the impression that little to no investigation had already occurred, and yet, a decision had been made.”
We asked District Attorney Joe Gonzales what led to the decision not to prosecute. He sent the following statement:
“Last week, a Bexar County Grand Jury declined to indict this case. Because this case may be the subject of further review or investigation, we can make no further comment on it.”
The Hawkins family said they met with Gonzales for two hours this week. They said they have hired an attorney and when the shock wears off a bit, they will consider what action they will take in their fight for justice.
We asked SAPD for a response. They have not yet replied to our request, but the information will be added if it becomes available.