San Antonio teen shot by officer is awake
The 17-year-old boy who has been hospitalized since being shot more than a month ago by a San Antonio police officer is awake and interacting with people, an update to an online fundraising campaign shows.
Erik Cantu, who was shot by now-fired officer James Brennand on Oct. 2, had been on a ventilator fighting for his life for weeks.
Over the weekend, Cantu’s family posted a photo of him on the webpage for a GoFundMe campaign — established to help defray the cost of the teenager’s medical care — showing him sitting up, smiling and playing with Lego bricks alongside his father, Eric Cantu Sr.
Cantu’s status marks a huge improvement from the teen’s previous condition, which his father described at a news conference in October as “touch and go.”
“After six long weeks and by the grace of God along with all the prayers sent by the masses we are emerging victoriously from this unfortunate event,” Cantu Sr. said on the GoFundMe site. “I’m one proud father to see this young man fight so hard to be here.”
Cantu Sr. said his son faces “one more potential surgery and weeks and months and years of rehab, but he’s proving he can do it.”
On the night of the shooting, Cantu Jr. was eating a burger about 10:45 p.m. in a McDonald’s parking lot in the 11700 block of Blanco when Brennand apalso proached his 2008 BMW sedan.
The officer was at the McDonald’s in response to an unrelated disturbance when he noticed Cantu’s car and recognized it as one that had eluded him during an attempted traffic stop the night before. Brennand suspected the car was stolen, which was later confirmed not to be the case.
Brennand called for backup but did not wait for such assistance to arrive before he abruptly opened Cantu’s driver-side door and demanded that the teenager step out of the car. Cantu then put the car in reverse and attempted to drive away.
Brennand then fired 10 shots in Cantu’s direction, striking him in the liver, diaphragm, bicep, chest and stomach. One bullet remained lodged near his heart, his mother said at the October news conference.
The teen also developed pneumonia and a fever, which led medical professionals to perform a tracheostomy.
Brennand was fired from the San Antonio Police Department within days of the shooting, and he was arrested later that week on two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant.
Since then, community activists have called for more severe charges against Brennand.
A prehearing for Brennand is set for Nov. 23.