Surrounded by a mob of protesters after driving into a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Texas last summer, then confronted by a man wielding an AK-47 rifle, a motorist shot the gunman and fled.
The gunman died of his wounds, and now the driver, a soldier in the U.S. Army who was stationed at Fort Hood, has been charged with murder, authorities in Travis County said on July 1.
Sgt. Daniel Perry was indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder, aggravated assault and deadly conduct in the July 25, 2020 death of Garrett Foster in Austin.
Perry was driving customers for a ride-sharing company and just dropped off a fare when he turned onto a street filled with leftists demonstrating against law enforcement. Police said he stopped his car, sounded the horn and then drove into the crowd, The Texas Tribune reported.
The crowd surrounded the car, and included Foster, a 28-year-old Air Force veteran who was carrying the rifle legally under Texas open carry laws.
Accounts differ about what happened next, but the confrontation ended with Foster dead of multiple gunshot wounds. The Tribune reported that Perry, also legally armed, shot Foster with a handgun and fled. He was later arrested and released without charges pending an investigation.
Perry’s lawyers say the soldier fired in self-defense after Foster pointed his weapon at him. Protesters had begun beating on Perry’s vehicle after he turned onto the street, they said, and Foster approached the car and motioned with his gun for Perry to roll down the window.
Perry thought Foster was a law-enforcement officer and complained, the lawyers said, but when Foster raised his weapon the soldier realized Foster was not a cop and fired in self-defense.
