Overview
- Authorities say a deputy attempted a traffic stop shortly after midnight Monday, pursued the vehicle and then fired after the car entered a garage in the 100 block of Indian Warrior Trail.
- The driver was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead, and the family has identified him as 18-year-old John Gabriel Mendoza Jr., a Texas State University freshman.
- The Texas Rangers are leading the investigation with the Brazoria County district attorney’s office and the involved deputy has been placed on administrative leave.
- Mendoza’s family and their attorney say he was unarmed, shot inside the car and that friends had their hands raised, but those claims have not been confirmed by investigators.
- Key facts remain unreleased by authorities — including the reason for the attempted stop, whether the driver was armed and the deputy’s identity — and investigators continue collecting evidence for the DA to review.