AUSTIN, Texas — A jury was selected on Monday for the trial of a man accused in the 2021 mass shooting on Sixth Street that left one man dead and 13 other people injured.
In June 2021, the Austin Police Department reported two groups on East Sixth Street were arguing. At around 1:30 a.m., a gunman fired shots into a large crowd. More than a dozen people were injured, and 25-year-old Douglas Kantor, a New York native visiting Austin, died.
His death has left a hole in the lives of his friends, like Harley Valencia-McNally, who had known Kantor since the eighth grade. They kept in touch until his death. Valencia-McNally reflected on reaching milestones without his friend.
"Doug was one of those guys that would hype you up," he said. "He would make you believe that you could do whatever you're dreaming of doing. I'm getting married next September and I just had my bachelor party about two weeks ago, and it was weirdly one of those days that all of us were together. And I was like, 'Man, I do miss Doug not being here. Like, he should be here.'"
All of the people injured in the shooting were considered bystanders and were not part of the fight between the two groups.
After the shooting, City of Austin leaders implemented the "Safer Sixth Street" initiative and have since approved adding more cameras and lighting in the area, as well as a staging area for first responders on Sixth Street.
Cleo Petricek got close to the Kantor family after Doug Kantor's death. Patricek said the Kantors are helping lead an effort to train downtown bar and business owners to help gunshot victims from suffering rapid blood loss.
"I hope that there is a speedy trial, that they finally get the closure they've been wanting," Petricek said.
"He had everything going for him and just like that, he was taken. And it's just not fair," Valencia-McNally said.
Accused gunman De'ondre White is charged with murder for the death of Kantor, as well as 14 counts of aggravated assault, one for each victim in the shooting.
Douglas Kantor's brother, Nick Kanton, told KVUE this June he planned to be in the courtroom when White's trial begins. The Kantor family plans to hold a press conference on Tuesday.
Attorneys picked 12 jurors and alternates to serve in White's trial. Opening statements will begin on Tuesday.