King of the Hill star Jonathan Joss fought 'so hard to stay alive' after he had been shot
King of the Hill starJonathan Joss "struggled so hard to stay alive" after he had been shot.
Jonathan Joss "struggled so hard to stay alive" after he had been shot.
The actor - who was best known for voicing the part of John Redcorn on the animated TV series King of the Hill - was killed in a shooting on Saturday (31.05.25) in San Antonio, and now his husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales has recalled his last few moments.
He told People: "Everything happened so quickly. Everything was very close range and due to the severity and the trauma of the various head wounds, I knew that there was no hope of saving Jonathan's physical form, and he was struggling so hard, trying to stay alive. It was just really, really close range."
Tristan urged Jonathan that he "didn't need to keep fighting" as he lay dying, but claimed that the alleged gunman Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja was just "laughing" at them throughout the ordeal.
He said: "I held my husband's face together as best I could, and I told him how much I loved him, and that none of this was his fault. I told him he needed to cross over easy. He didn't need to keep fighting.
"I told him that no matter what, and in some way, shape, or form, we’ll always be together, and he'll always be my husband.
"[The alleged gunman] was laughing. He mocked me for telling my husband that I loved him and used the same homophobic slurs.
"The flashbacks are very, very intense, and they affect my whole body."
Police have said that Alvarez, 56, admitted to shooting and killing the Parks and Recreation actor and he was released on a $200,000 bond on Monday.
Just days ago, Tristan revealed that the whole incident had taken place at the site of their former home, which burned down earlier this year.
In a Facebook post, he explained: "My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home. That home was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done.
"Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic.
"When we returned to the site to check our mail we discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw.
"While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired.
"Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.
"Jonathan is my husband. He gave me more love in our time together than most people ever get. We were newlyweds. We picked Valentines Day. We were in the process of looking for a trailer and planning our future.
"He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other.
"I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved. (sic)"
