A young man who had been reported for violence and who did not want his Latina ex-girlfriend to have an abortion shot her dead in a gas station parking lot in Dallas, Texas, according to police. Now, he is jailed on murder charges.
"I heard gunshots and immediately knew it was her and when I looked back, it was her. He was on the ground," a shaken Mileny Rubio, the victim's sister and witness to what happened, told NBC News 5 in Dallas. The family said their sister had been assaulted and wanted to leave the man, so they feared something bad would happen: "I knew she wasn't right, but we couldn't help her, we didn't know how."
The arrest warrant says Harold Thompson, 22, is suspected of attacking his ex-girlfriend, Gabriella Gonzalez, 26, at 7:30 a.m. The young woman had just returned from an abortion in Colorado. "The suspect is believed to have been the father," the affidavit says, according to The Associated Press. "I didn't want [Gonzalez] to have an abortion," she adds.
Gabriella Gonzalez.KXAS
Texas banned all abortions after six weeks gestation in September 2021 after the Supreme Court struck down federal protection of this right in 2022.
As a result, women can only travel to other states to access reproductive health services, say activists and medical specialists.
"Gabriella was very beautiful. She was so sweet," her sister said through tears. "It's so heartbreaking because everyone loved her."
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Thompson had an outstanding arrest warrant, and the family says they had reported him in March for violence but police did nothing about it. "He was so angry that she wanted to end her relationship with him," the sister said.
Shot dead in a parking lot
Police say surveillance video shows the couple arguing in a parking lot, and at one point he tries to strangle her. Then, Gonzalez is seen "getting rid of him" and the two continue walking. Thompson then pulls out a gun and shoots the young woman in the head. She falls to the ground and Thompson shoots her multiple times and then flees, according to the affidavit.
The young woman died at the scene. Her sister witnessed the attack: she heard gunshots as she drove to get her boyfriend to work. Another witness saw Thompson try to strangle Gonzalez, but couldn't call police because he didn't have his phone. Mileny Rubio told NBC5 she was "shocked" to see her sister on the floor. "I couldn't touch her. I couldn't move. My body froze. I just called my mom and I couldn't even explain it to her," she said.
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Thompson was arrested later Wednesday and is being held in the Dallas County Jail without bond. Court records do not indicate an attorney who can speak on your behalf.
"She was scared," says her mom.
"I saw her beaten, he wouldn't let her talk to anyone anymore, he took everything she had," the girl's mother told NBC 5. "He took her phone, he handled all her things, she was scared," he said.
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A search of Thompson's criminal record shows prior domestic assault charges, which resulted in an arrest warrant being issued for him prior to the crime. Gonzalez's mother said her family filed a report in March, but received no response from Dallas police after several attempts.
The Associated Press says an affidavit from a March complaint does not specifically name Gonzalez as the person assaulted, but it does say the woman told police Thompson "hit her multiple times throughout their relationship." Thompson told police the woman was pregnant with him at the time. The woman "reiterated that she was afraid of the suspect because he had threatened to harm her family and children," according to the affidavit.
Court records also indicate the teen was accused of abusing Gonzalez while she was pregnant. "She always told me she wanted to leave him, but she couldn't," the sister said.
According to the National Latin@ Network, one in three Latinas will experience intimate partner violence at some point in their lives, and one in 12 has been abused in the past year. Violence against women can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender identity, economic status or sexual orientation, but there are free resources for anyone who needs help.
If you or someone else experiences domestic violence or feels under threat of domestic violence, call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or visit www.thehotline.org to chat anonymously and confidentially in both English and Spanish.
