Austin shooting victim's brother: Death should not be used to politicize gun control
Austin shooting victim Douglas Kantor's brother Nick tells 'America's Newsroom' that using his death to politicize gun control is the 'last thing' the family wants.
The family of the man killed in Saturday's shooting in Austin, Texas, is speaking out against efforts to "politicize" the tragedy, telling Fox News that attempts to invoke the gun control debate are "deeply disturbing."
Douglas Kantor, 25, died from his injuries at Dell Seton Medical Center after gunfire erupted around 1:30 a.m. on 6th Street, a popular strip of bars and restaurants where thousands of people gather every weekend. Thirteen others were injured with one in critical condition.
AUSTIN MASS SHOOTING: 1 VICTIM DIES, BROTHER SAYS PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW HE ‘SUFFERED’
The shooting renewed calls from Texas Democrats for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to veto the state's "constitutional carry" bill, which would remove permit requirements for people to carry handguns in public. The Texas Legislature send the bill to the governor's desk last month.
Kantor's brother and uncle joined "America's Newsroom" Wednesday to condemn efforts to link the shooting to the gun control debate, arguing that what unfolded in Austin was an isolated incident between two parties that left innocent bystanders in the crossfire.
"This was not a mass shooting," Nick Kantor told co-host Bill Hemmer.
"This wasn't somebody on top of a rooftop gunning people down for no reason. This was rival members of groups that were having a problem with each other and decided that they were going to have a standoff in the middle of a street party that my brother was attending, and my brother was caught in the crossfire."
"This should not be used to politicize any sort of gun control," he continued. "The fact that that's what it seems like politicians are doing with this story is deeply disturbing to me and my family. This is the last thing we want. We want Doug's story to be told for what it was and not politicized for some agenda."
Two juvenile suspects have been arrested in connection to the shooting, according to local law enforcement. The 17-year-old suspect arrested Monday will be reportedly charged as an adult.
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Kantor also spoke out against the ‘defund the police’ movement, calling it a "nationwide crisis" as major cities, including Austin, slash department funding.
"Defunding the police just gives a false sense of security to those people who abide by the laws," Kantor said. "My brother went out here seeing plenty of police presence in Austin and feeling safe, not realizing that there were gang members walking among him with guns."