Justin Howell is a Black 20-year-old Texas State University political science student who was shot with rubber bullets on the head during a protest in Austin on May 31. He remains in critical condition with a fractured skull.
According to several posts, Austin police kept shooting as fellow protestors tried to carry Howell to safety.
A Black 20 year old protester is in critical condition with brain damage here in Austin for fighting against police brutality. @Chief_Manley needs to be fired immediately along with the cops who fired at the crowd! DISGUSTING! #hisnameisjustinhowell #BLM pic.twitter.com/uVybecMh5c
— imnothoracio (@imnothoracio) June 4, 2020
Justin is and undergrad at Texas State studying Political Science. May 31st he was hit with a so-called “non – lethal” (they are still lethal) round and is in critical condition.
But what happened right after he was shot was even worse. pic.twitter.com/EHKUEZaQJi
— Nikkita Bourbaki is sick of winning. (@futurebird) June 4, 2020
Before they shot at Justin Howell, the Austin Police Association defended their actions against protestors.
Q: Why is APD using bean bag rounds?
A: Bean bag rounds are used to stop protestors from throwing rocks, bottles, paint, and other dangerous items at @Austin_Police officers or other people nearby. The debris all over IH35 yesterday were items thrown at officers.#QandAwiththeAPA pic.twitter.com/FHp5cWq2k5— Austin Police Association (@ATXPOA) May 31, 2020
On Wednesday, Howell’s older brother Joshua, who is an editor at the Texas A&M University newspaper, wrote an Op-ed about his brother.
“Two evenings ago, as I drove home from Austin, my mom was with Justin in his hospital room. He was still sedated. Suddenly she heard a flurry of police sirens,” he wrote. “Going to the window, she saw what one nurse described as 60 DPS vehicles passing by. She suspected it was a show of force, a threat to the protesters of the violence the police would visit upon them if they saw fit.”
