SAN ANTONIO – Exactly one year ago, a South Side family was ripped apart by violence.
On the night of June 16, 2013, Manuel Cantu and his brother, Armando Gonzalez, were killed in the wake of a violent argument between their mother, Rosemary Gonzales, and her then-boyfriend, Manuel Romero.
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Gonzales and Romero got into a violent argument after celebrating Father's Day. Gonzales said Romero attacked her and threatened to kill her, then pulled out a gun and fired two shots, missing the woman.
Her sons then got involved, smashing Romero's windshield. That's when he shot them both.
A year later, family members are still struggling to deal with the result of the investigation into the shooting which ended with no charges being filed against Romero because the shooting fell under the Castle Doctrine.
Under the Castle Doctrine, property owners are allowed to use force to defend themselves against imminent danger.
Gonzales believes this was not a case of self-defense and that Romero intended to kill her sons.
Family members gathered Monday night to remember Cantu and Gonzalez during a candlelight vigil.
For those who knew the pair, the pain of their tragic death is compounded by the reality that the man who killed them walked free.
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