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Man beaten to death in parking lot
41-year-old killed after car he was in struck a child.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
David Rivas Morales, a 41-year-old house painter, had hitched a ride home with a co-worker Tuesday night when, investigators say, the driver of the car accidentally struck a 2-year-old boy near an apartment complex parking lot.
The driver got out of the Ford Taurus, which police say was surrounded by as many as 20 men, and was attacked by several of them, according to investigators.
Morales got out to try to shield the driver. He was instead beaten to death.
Austin police investigators said Wednesday that according to the handful of people they have interviewed, no one immediately around the car did anything to stop the attack.
By the time an anonymous caller dialed 911 and the first officers arrived at the Booker T. Washington housing development shortly after 9:30 p.m., the crowd had dispersed, Austin police Cmdr. Harold Piatt said.
The incident occurred about two blocks from where thousands of people gathered at Rosewood Park for the annual celebration of Juneteenth, marking the day slaves were emancipated in Texas in 1865.
Hispanic and African American leaders, fearing that the incident would create racial tension because the victim was Hispanic and the assailants were believed to be black, urged people to keep their emotions in check. Investigators said they have no indication that the attack was racially motivated.
"This is an anomaly for Austin," Piatt said. "When you have someone just beaten to death in a parking lot."
Piatt said Wednesday that "at this point, we aren't aware that any person did anything to stop the assault or prevent the injuries."
The 2-year-old, Michael Hosea Jr., was not seriously injured, authorities said.
Austin police initially said in a news release that as many as 3,000 people were in the area when the driver and Morales were attacked, but they continuously reduced that number throughout the day as they got more information. By midafternoon, Piatt said that up to 300 people might have been nearby and that three or four men might have participated in the assault.
However, Assistant Police Chief Leo Enriquez said that 10 to 15 people were in the parking lot at the time of the attack and that the crowd grew — possibly to several hundred — after police cars and ambulances showed up.
Morales arrived at Brackenridge Hospital 35 minutes after the initial 911 call, said Warren Hassinger, spokesman for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. He said paramedics were delayed by officers while they secured the area.
Police said Morales was not moved due to the possibility of complicating his injuries.
Several minority leaders held an afternoon news conference in an attempt to ease the threat of racial tension they feared the incident would create between Hispanics and African Americans in East Austin.
Leaders of the two minority groups have banded together in recent years to address social and criminal justice issues, including recent police shootings of minorities and the hiring last week of Austin's new police chief, Art Acevedo.
They also encouraged anyone who might have witnessed the beating to come forward with information. Police have asked that possible witnesses call 477-3588.
By late Wednesday, police had interviewed several people who had information about the incident.
"There is a lot of anger in the community and a lot of emotions going on," said Rita D. Gonzales, district director for the League of United Latin American Citizens. "We want people to look beyond where they're from, and color, and work together as a community."
Richard Franklin, president of the Black Austin Democrats, also said the incident wasn't about race and happened separately from Juneteenth celebrations.
"We need to remove the animals from our community. Those people who don't treat others humanely have to be removed," he said.
Franklin said he thinks a "mob mentality" might have helped spark the attack and stopped others from trying to prevent it.
Police have declined to identify the driver of the car Morales was riding in.
Piatt said he was unsure whether the driver was aware that he had hit the child when he got out of his car or whether he exited for some other reason. He said the driver was able to get back in the car and drive away.
Officers found him a short time later and questioned him throughout the night and into the day Wednesday.
Piatt said most of their information about what occurred came from the driver.
Police said a man in a car they think was a Buick Roadmaster, but that might have been a Cadillac, assaulted Morales, including after he was on the ground. They think that car was occupied by three men.
Morales' sister, Margaret Morales, said that her brother had been living with her for about a week and that a child knocked on her door Tuesday night, saying someone had "knocked out" her brother.
She said she rushed to the parking lot and saw blood seeping from her brother's head. She said officers kept her from approaching him.
"He was a loving, caring man," said Morales, 30, as she fought back tears. "I don't know why anyone would want to do this; I can't imagine him gone out of our lives forever."
David Morales worked at the Barton Springs Road Whataburger until a month ago, when he started painting houses, Margaret Morales said.
She said he was an avid sports fan who enjoyed being around his friends and family. She said he treated his nieces and nephews like they were his own by playing with them and giving them advice.
"I want justice to be served so my brother can rest in peace," she said.
tplohetski@statesman.com; 445-3605
A man who was trying to protect the driver of a vehicle that had hit a child pedestrian was killed by an angry crowd the evening of Wednesday, June 20, in Austin, Texas.

The man was identified today by Austin police as David Rivas Morales, age 40. The driver had just dropped Morales off at his sister's townhouse moments before.  Then while still in the parking lot, he allegedly bumped the toddler with the vehicle.  The child was not injured and was not taken to the hospital.  A group of 3 or 4 men confronted the driver and Morales came back to assist him.  The assailants then turned on Morales. Police indicated the driver, who had escaped the scene of the crime, was cooperating with the investigation.  Morales died at the hospital from injuries that included a cracked skull and brain hemorrhaging.

The neighborhood was crowded at the time with some 2,000 to 3,000 people who were participating in the annual Juneteenth celebration, which commemorates the day the emancipation of slaves was announced in Texas. It was not immediately known whether any of the attackers had been part of the celebration.

In a news conference on Wednesday, members of League of United Latin American Citizens called on the community not to assume the killing was racially motivated solely because Juneteenth celebrants are predominately African-American and the victim was Latino. Police officers stated that early reports were incorrect in implying thousands of potential witnesses, as investigations suggested only 10 to 15 people had been in the parking lot when the incident occurred and most of these were residents of apartments nearby.