AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin family is pushing for answers after they say their 15-year-old was shot at an apartment complex in July, and the gunman was never charged. But Austin police have a different version of what happened that night.
The family of Jamir Richardson says on July 19, he was hanging out with friends and ended up at the Abelia Flats apartment complex, off FM 620 in northwest Austin. However, around 3 a.m., Richardson's mother, Clarissa Moore, said she received a call informing her that her son had been shot.
According to the family and the Austin Justice Coalition (AJC), Richardson and his friends were confronted by a man with a gun who accused them of breaking into cars. Richardson allegedly tried to tell the man that he had the wrong group.
"'No sir, you have the wrong group of kids. That wasn't us. That wasn't us,'" Moore said her son told the man. "And the man told him, 'Well, I'm gonna shoot y'all anyway.' As the boys turned off to run, the man fired a shot and Jamir was the one who got injured."
Moore said after he was hit, Richardson got up and started running and screaming for help, but he eventually fell down to the ground.
"Only to be approached by another man who pointed a shotgun in his face and told him, 'If you move an inch, I'm gonna kill you,'" Moore said.
Moore said Richardson tried to tell the man with the shotgun that he didn't do anything. A third man then intervened and managed to get the shotgun away from the other man and call medics to come help Richardson.
Moore said Richardson's right kidney was shattered by the bullet and had to be removed. He also experienced injury to his colon and a bruised liver, and the bullet lodged into his abdominal wall, where it remains.
Richardson's family and the AJC claim the men responsible have faced no consequences. Moore said police told her a warrant would not be issued, and the Travis County District Attorney's Office told her this is a "non-prosecutable case."
"Two white men gunned down and severely injured an unarmed black teen. Instead of holding these men accountable, Austin Police has decided to take no action," the AJC said in a press release. "They have allowed these violent criminals to walk away free from prosecution."
But the Austin Police Department (APD) has a very different account of what happened.
APD said at approximately 3:35 a.m. on July 19, officers responded a report of gunshots in the 8200 block of North FM 620, where Abelia Flats is located. When officers arrived, they found a juvenile who had been shot. Immediate medical aid was rendered to the juvenile, and they were transported to a hospital by medics.
During the investigation, APD said it was found that a Hispanic man noticed three people dressed in dark clothing, carrying 8- to 10-inch, tactical-style flashlights, looking into vehicles and trying to open car doors. The man reported this to the apartment manager and while he was on the call, he told police that the three individuals approached him.
"The male was alone, in fear, and subsequently shot one of the subjects who was dressed in a black hoodie, wearing gloves, and a ski mask," APD told KVUE.
Investigators interviewed the three individuals and determined that they were not residents of the apartment complex. APD said two of the individuals claimed they were at the complex to meet a friend.
APD said the man who reported seeing the three people around the vehicles has "cooperated" and participated in multiple interviews with detectives. The department said, "After a thorough investigation, the facts of this case were presented to the Travis County District Attorney's office. No charges have been filed at this time, and the case remains open."
Richardson's family says they want to meet with incoming APD Chief Lisa Davis and District Attorney José Garza to talk about the case.