A Texas man has been arrested and charged in the killing of his girlfriend, who police say he killed because she went out of state for an abortion procedure.
An arrest warrant affidavit obtained by NPR said that 22-year-old Harold Thompson allegedly shot and killed 26-year-old Gabriella Gonzalez in a parking lot last Wednesday.
Police say that Thompson carried out the shooting after learning that Gonzalez had traveled to Colorado to have an abortion and then returned to the state, where legislation has all but banned the procedures.
The affidavit says that Thompson is believed to have been the father of the child, and that he didn’t want his girlfriend to “get an abortion,” CBS News reported.
Surveillance video from security cameras in the parking lot caught the incident, showing the suspect putting Gonzalez into a choke hold, shooting her once in the head, and then firing several shots after her body collapsed to the ground, the affidavit says.
Police wrote that Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene when first responders found her.
According to the affidavit, Gonzalez’s sister was driving by the parking lot when she saw the couple standing there. However, shortly after passing, she said she heard gunfire and “looked back and saw her sister on the ground.”
The family shared with a local media outlet that the two had broken up. A March arrest warrant affidavit also obtained by NPR alleged that Thompson had been physically abusive towards the victim.
“He was so angry that she wanted to get away from him,” she told KXAS.
She also said she “knew she wasn’t OK, but we couldn’t get help. We didn’t know how.”
Thompson is now facing murder charges in connection to the shooting.
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