A Houston man has been indicted on capital murder charges in the shooting death of an 11-year-old boy who was playing ding-dong ditch with his cousin last summer.
Gonzalo Leon Jr., 43, was indicted Wednesday by a Harris County grand jury in the death of Julian Guzman. The shooting occurred about 10:55 p.m. on August 30, 2025, in the 9700 block of Racine Street in the Clinton Park neighborhood of southeast Houston.
Houston police say the boys had wandered from a nearby birthday party and were playing the classic prank of ringing doorbells and running away. Julian rang the doorbell at Leon’s home and was recording the prank on his phone when Leon allegedly came out from behind a fence and fired shots. The boy was hit in the back as he ran and died the next day.
Leon was arrested days later and initially charged with murder in the 177th Criminal District Court. Prosecutors presented the case to a grand jury, which upgraded the charge to capital murder on April 29, 2026. If convicted, Leon could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
Houston police homicide detectives led the investigation with assistance from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Leon has been held in the Harris County Jail on $1 million bond since shortly after the shooting. He is scheduled for a bond hearing Friday.
The case has drawn widespread attention and outrage across Houston, with many residents disturbed that a child playing a harmless neighborhood game lost his life. Julian’s death prompted renewed conversations about gun violence and neighborhood safety in the city.
